


A Clear Vision

by juli_with_a_chance



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Multi, clairvoyant Perry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2018-12-20 21:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11929323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juli_with_a_chance/pseuds/juli_with_a_chance
Summary: *REPOST*Carmilla gives in and gets a reading done by Perry, the town psychic, who also happens to be her good friend.





	1. Chapter 1

-Carmilla POV-

I walk into the small shop just off of the main road of the old port town not too far from my apartment. I sigh, taking in the familiar surroundings, the dark purple walls covered in different tapestries of the stars and planets. The faint smell of lavender filling the small room, it was so small I could literally touch both ends of it if I stretched my arms out just enough. I get caught up looking at all the different stones and crystals, forgetting why I was there until someone cleared there throat, I look up to see the familiar copper curls and excited smile. “I see you decided to come in.” Perry chimes, walking over towards me.

“Yeah, I decided to give in to this nonsense.” I say, waving my hand around.

“Come on, Carmilla, you know I would never say things just because I know you want to hear it. I will give you an honest reading as if you were any other stranger that walked in here.”

“Yeah, but still.”

“Don’t be skeptical, you know my family has been doing this kind of thing for generations. We can trace our lineage all the way back to France, during the nineteenth century on my mother’s side. All of the women are born with the gift.” She winks, leading me to the back room, this one was at least bigger than the size of an elevator, but it still had the same décor as the front room, except there were candles burning in this room and there was a small table set in the middle of the room amongst packed out bookcases and shelved the were filled with different bottles of oils and candles.

“Do people really believe you?” I ask as we sit at the small table.

“Of course, I’m the only one people seem to believe. I’ve been told that I am the most trust worthy and accurate in what I do, now, hands please.” Perry chimes, as I place my hands on the table, she reaches over, turning them so the palm faced up before she closes her eyes. “I can feel that you aren’t open to this. Relax, Carmilla. Try to not be so stiff.” I sigh, closing my eyes and allowing myself to relax. “The energy in the room shifted, now I know you’re relaxed.” I can sense her smiling, even without having to open my eyes. “Okay, I don’t want any snarky remarks.”

“I’ll try to hold them in.”

“Good. I see a girl in your future.”

“Hold on.” I snap, trying to pull my hands away.

“Nope, I’m not done.” Perry says, gripping my hands a bit tighter. “She isn’t like the last girl in your life, she’s different. A good different, a change for you in the right direction.”

“Do you know what she looks like? Is it Alicia Vikander, or Brie Larson?”

“In your dreams.” She scoffs. “No, I don’t have a visual of her. I don’t know what she could possibly look like. What I do know is that, she is going to come into your life when you least expect it, it may even be cliché, but you’ll know when it happens. It will change you, you’ll feel the shift in the atmosphere, but you’ll have to cherish her. She’s going to need you just as much as you need her. She isn’t broken, but she has a few cracks that need mending, and in turn she’ll help you mend your own.”

“Do you know when it will happen? Like a round about time?”

“In the near future, I don’t think it’s going to be too far off, it may be in the next couple of days or weeks, either way it is going to hit you pretty hard when she finally walks in on you life. There is no doubt about that.” Perry chimes.

“I swear you better not be fucking with me, Curly Sue.”

“I’m not. I promise, if anything I’ve been sensing it for a while and I’ve been wanting to tell you.” 

“How long is a while?”

“A couple days.” Perry shrugs.

“Again, you better not be fucking with me.”

“I swear, Carmilla.” She says with a smile. “The girl that is going to change your life is going to come around when you least expect it.”

“If it happens by reaching for the same coffee order at Starbucks, then I’m going to freak out.” 

“We’ll just have to see. Do you want anything?”

“No thanks.” I say, getting up from the table. “I’m just going to be freaking out every time I walk into someone.”

“It’s not going to be randomly, that much I’m certain about. Like you aren’t going to walk into her and fall head over heels, it’s going to be something more coincidental and ironic.

“Whatever you say.”

“LaFontaine is throwing a party this weekend. Are you coming?”

“Most likely. You know I never pass up a party.” I smile. “I’ll probably bring Ell, if that’s okay and she isn’t busy.”

“No problem, you know that.” Perry chimes. “I’ll see you soon.”

“What does that mean?”

“Knowing you, you’re going to come running in here the day you need _her_.”

“True.”

“All I ask is that you don’t come barreling into my house at midnight, you’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you this weekend if I don’t run into my ‘dream girl’.”

“Don’t make fun, it will be good for you, she will be good for you.”

“Whatever.” I huff, walking out the door and onto the sidewalk. I pull the back of cigarettes out of my back pocket, bringing one to my lips and lighting it. 

* * *

“So she told you you’re going to meet the love of your life?” Mattie asks from where she was stood in the kitchen of our apartment.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“Well, you should go along with it. I’ve gone to Perry before and she is pretty good at what she does.”

“I guess so.” I say, taking a sip from the glass of wine Mattie hands me as she walks into the living room. “She said I may meet this person in a cliché way, you know how much I hate clichés.”

“Maybe you’re just going to have to start embracing things and taking them how they come. You can’t always be controlling in the way things take place in your life, Kitty." 

“I know, I know. I just have a feeling that it’s going to be so overly cliché that I may end up resenting the whole thing.” I sigh, leaning my head against the back of the couch. “I don’t know if I’ll be ready for it when it happens.”

“Meeting your potential soulmate?”

“Yeah, it seems like it will scare the shit out of me.”

“It probably will, but you just have to be open to it.” Mattie chimes, taking a sip from her glass. “Mother would be pleased to know if you do indeed meet your soulmate. You aren’t getting any younger.”

“I’m only twenty-three.” I sigh. “You know I’m going to be a nervous wreck when it comes to people walking into me, or smiling at me. This isn’t going to be easy for me. I’m going to be neurotic.”

“Like you aren’t already neurotic.”

“Shut up.” I say, throwing a pillow at her.

“Everything will be fine, Kitty, you just have to let go a bit.”

“I guess so.”

* * *

I was walking through the famers market looking over the different tables carefully seeing as I wouldn’t want to miss anything. “Did you want to get that honey you got last time?” My best friend, Ell, asks.

“I still have some from last week, I didn’t drink it like I did the last time.”

“Good, I have to get some peppers for my mom.”

“Okay, I think I’m going to stop at the desserts, I have to get something for Riley, I promised her.”

“Well, aren’t you just trying to win Auntie of the year?” She teases.

“Shut up, and I’ll meet you by the car.” I say, shoving her away. I make my way over to the table where an older woman was standing with a welcoming smile.

“Hello there.” She chimes. “How are you?”

“Very well, thank you. Do you have anything with peanut butter in it? My niece is obsessed and I promised her something with peanut butter.” I smile.

“Sure, these have peanut butter cups, and these over here are a peanut butter cookie with chocolate drizzle.”

“Those are my personal favorite.” A quiet voice says. I look up and catch my breath as I stare into the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes I’ve ever seen.

“They’ve been her personal favorite since she was six.” The older woman chimes, wrapping her arm around the shoulder of whom I can only assume is her daughter.

“Well, I will take your word for it, seeing as she’s six.” I smile, reaching into my bag and grabbing my wallet. I pay the woman and she smiles. 

“If your niece enjoys them, I’ll give you the next bag half off.

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly accept that, but thank you.”

“Nonsense, you’re going to be buying two bags next time, I promise you that. Buy one, get one half.” The woman chimes with a playful wink.

“Trust me, my mom isn’t lying when she says you’ll be buying twice as much.” The younger woman says with a dazzling smile. Something about it made my heart jump a bit. Immediately I was able to take in the fact that her teeth weren’t perfectly straight, and that it could light up the world in an instant.

“I’ll have to see if you can own up to that fact, Cutie.” I say the words without even thinking.

“We’ll be seeing you next Sunday then.” She says with a flirtatious tone to her voice.

“I got the peppers, Babe, you were taking too long so I came to see if you were okay.” Ell chimes, popping up next to me. In the moment, something in the girl’s face changed, she became instantly unsure of herself it seemed.

“Everything’s fine, I was just getting Riley some cookies, and these ladies were just telling me how amazing they are.”

“Well, she’s going to love them.” Ell says, taking the bag from me. “Peanut butter, chocolate drizzle. Oh my god, these sound amazing.”

“She’s probably going to inhale them and Will is going to kill me.”

“Hell with Will, you never see Riley, she deserves a treat.”

“Well, like I said, if she likes them you come back and we’ll make a deal.” The woman says with a nod. “I’m Jane by the way.” She smiles, extending her hand for me to shake.

“Carmilla.”

“Very unique name.”

“Thank you.” I smile. “It was nice meeting you, I’ll see you next week.” I smile; walking away from the table when I realized the daughter was nowhere to be found.

“What’s wrong?” Ell asks as we get to the car.

“I – I think that was the girl.” I say, climbing into my Jeep.

“That blonde?”

“Yeah, something shifted when I looked at her, it was something I never felt before.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Go talk to Perry again. See if she can explain it.” 

* * *

“It’s been ten days, you’re usually not back in here for months.” Perry smiles as we walk into the back room.

“Y – yeah, something happened.”

“You met her.” Perry states as we sit at the small table.

“I think I may have.”

“I know you did, I can feel it. Your aura is different this time. What happened?”

“I was buying cookies for Riley. And the girl was behind the table with her mom.”

“Hands, please.” She says as I place my hands on the table. “I don’t see this being simple, you’re going to have to fight for it. You’re going to be put to the test.”

“Is it going to be a difficult test?”

“Only if you go against what’s taking place. You have to go with it; you can’t try to make things go the way you want them to. I know it’s going to be hard for you, you like to be in control, but you have to just go with it. You can’t try to control this, it will backfire on you.” She explains, taking a deep breath. “Don’t get nervous, it isn’t worth it. Everything will work out, so long as you don’t try to take charge. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“This is serious, Carmilla. You have to let go of your compulsions if you want to see this through.”

“I understand, trust me. She was so beautiful, Perry. I couldn’t even comprehend it. It was like a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t think things like that happened in real life.”

“When you open your mind to it, anything will happen.”

“I see that.”

“Do you know when you’ll see her again?”

“Next Sunday at the farms market, potentially, who knows if she’ll even be there?”

“Well, if the stars have anything to do with it, I don’t see why she wouldn’t be there.” Perry chimes.

“If she is the girl, Perry…”

“It isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of she is.”

“Whatever you say, Copper Top.”

“That is something I don’t take as an insult.” She chimes, brushing her hair back. “If anything happens, text me.”

“Don’t worry, I will. You know I will.”

“Everything will work out, Carmilla. It will work out for the better.” She says, stepping forward to give me a hug.


	2. Chapter 2

-Carmilla POV- 

“So.” Mattie says as we sit down to dinner at her favorite restaurant, meaning she had news. “I have something to tell you.”

“This must be important seeing as you didn’t even wait for us to order.”

“Well, it is important.” She smiles, opening the menu. “I got a promotion.”

“Congratulations.” 

“I’m going to have to move.”

“That’s fine, I can manage the apartment. Ell can move in, she’s been wanting to get out of her parents’ place.” I shrug, figuring out what to order.

“Mother wants you to come with me.”

“Mother wants me to come with you where?”

“New York.”

“You’re funny, I’m not moving to New York.” 

“She wants you to experience it, she wants you to broaden your horizons.”

“My horizons are quite alright, thank you very much. I’m not leaving.”

“Carmilla, sweetie, what are you even doing here?”

“Mother promised me she’d help me open up a bookstore and coffee shop, I found the storefront, I just have to show her.”

“When did you find the storefront?”

“This morning.” I lied. “The place next to Perry’s is up for sale, I was going to look in to leasing it.”

“Well you better call her before she drags you to New York with me.”

“I’ll call her tomorrow. Look, I really don’t want to go to New York regardless.”

“Why is that?” She asks as the waiter comes over to the table. We place our orders quickly.

“I haven’t told you, but I think I met the girl.”

“What does that mean?”

“From what Perry told me.” 

“Oh really? Where did you meet her?”

“The farmers market. I was getting cookies for Riley, and she was there, selling them. Mattie, she was the most beautiful person I have ever seen.”

“What’s her name?” Mattie asks, raising a single eyebrow.

“I – I don’t know. I didn’t catch her name.”

“Then again, when do you?” Mattie teases. “I hope it all works out for you. I mean, if she is your soulmate and all.”

“I hope to see her again, but if I don’t, I think it’s not meant to be.”

“It’s your time to meet someone. To be with someone for more than just a night.”

“You’re right. Everyone is right, except for Mother wanting me to move, but you and Perry, even Ell is right.”

“So if you see the girl again?”

“I’m going to get her name.” I smile, watching Mattie try to hold in a laugh. “What?”

“You seem so smitten for someone whose name you don’t even know.”

“Well…” I shrug. “I mean you should have seen her. I can’t even begin to describe her.” I say, shaking my head.

“Just find out who she is, and get back to me about her. I would like to be able to meet her before I go to New York.”

“What are you even doing in New York?”

“Mother promoted me and wants me to take over her office in New York, she is looking to expand to Europe and needs to take the time to do that.”

“The thought that you want to take on the business amazes me.”

“It’s nothing, just looking over and making sure her money going into good investments that aren’t going to crumble. It isn’t hard at all; she just wants me to take her spot now. It’s not like I’m going anything different. She wishes you would take part.” 

“I’m never going to take part in the family business, I have no interest.”

“You’d rather have a bookstore in the middle of a small town.”

“Exactly, with the help from Mother when I need it. I like being self sustaining.”

“Self sustaining with a small fortune in the bank. That makes sense.”

“A small fortune that only gets touched when I need to touch it, I’m not living off of it. And the only reason why Mother wants to approve of the bookshop is due to the fact that she has to be controlling and wants to help design the layout, other than that I would have opened it already.”

“Whatever you say to feel better, Kitty.” Mattie shrugs, digging into her meal as soon as it’s put in front of her.

* * *

 

“Is this where you really want to open?” Mother asks as we walk through the small building.

“Yes, I do. The apartment upstairs is even for rent, seeing as Mattie is moving, I was thinking about moving into it.”

“Carmilla, you know I want nothing more than for you to have success…”

“Mother, please. I just want to open up my bookstore, maybe put in a little coffee corner, and just live out my life here. That to me is success enough.”

“What about finding someone? Are you going to be alone forever?”

“No Mother, I don’t plan on it.”

“Find yourself a nice boy, or girl. You know it doesn’t matter to me, so long as you’re happy and they treat you well.”

“I know, Mother. I’m looking for the right person I don’t want you to worry. When I know I’ve found them I’ll let you know.”

“That’s all I ask, Carmilla.” She says with a smile. “So this is where you want to set up shop?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you have any idea how you want it to look?”

“You know I like warmth, I don’t want bright or flashy.”

“I’ll have Dennis come and look at it. I’ll give him an idea so he can start drawing. Did you sign the lease? Is everything taken care of?”

“Yeah, already done, I just have to let the realtor know I’m taking the apartment too.”

“Is there a way to get up there from inside here?”

“No, you have to go out the back and there are stairs that are leading to it.” I say, as I turn to face the right of the store, something catches my eye through the front window. A flash of honey colored hair, I hear my mother start talking but I ignore her, I rush out of the store and look down the street. “Hey!” I call out, the girl turns, and it’s her. Those hazel eyes, even from fifty feet away capture my attention, I see her smile as she begins to walk towards me, and we meet halfway.

“Hey.” She says, moving her hair out of her eyes as the sea breeze blows it around.

“Hi.” I say quietly as I feel myself begin to smile.

“Did your niece enjoy the cookies?”

“She did, she loved them very much." 

“Well, you still get your discount then.” She chuckles. “I’m Laura, by the way.”

“Carmilla.” I smile, extending my hand for her to shake.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” I say quietly, a semi-awkward silence falling between us as we stand there and smile at each other.

“Carmilla!” I hear my Mother call out.

“I have to go, my mom is waiting for me, she’s helping me get my store off the ground.”

“Well, no need to keep her waiting, I’ll see you on Sunday?” Laura asks as she begins walking backwards.

“Sunday.” 

* * *

“Are you coming with me or not?” I ask, walking to the door as Ell lounged on my couch, watching TV.

“You just go I don’t need to go for anything. You should just go and see that girl. That’s really why you want to go.”

“Her name is, Laura.”

“And how did you find that out?”

“She walked past the storefront when I was showing my mom.”

“And you ran out like a creep, didn’t you?”

“I cannot confirm nor deny.”

“You’re strange when you like someone.”

“That isn’t news.” I scoff. “You’re staying here then?”

“Yeah.”

“Just make sure you lock the door, if you decide to leave.”

“Will, do. But you know I won’t leave.”

“I know.” I say, rolling my eyes as I walk out the door. I make my way towards the familiar table, I look up to see and see Jane helping out some customers, but Laura was nowhere to be found.

“Hi, Carmilla! You’re back again I see.” Jane chimes, as she finished up with a customer.

“My niece loved them so much, I came back for more.”

“I assumed you would.” She smiles, walking towards a cooler she has at the back of her tent. “I sold out of the drizzle cookies earlier.” She says, digging around. “But I did manage to save a pack for you.” She smiles, walking over and handing me a pack.

“You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.” I chime.

“It’s not a problem. What else would you like?”

“How about some snicker doodles?”

“No problem.”

“Hey.” I hear Laura chime from beside me as she walks over, placing a coffee cup on the table. “Here’s your coffee, Mom.”

“Thank you sweetheart. Here are your cookies.”

“Thank you.” I smile, as Laura looks at me intently.

“You know, when your father and I were young, we usually asked each other out on a date, rather than staring at them.” Jane pipes in, taking the lid off her coffee cup and blowing on it.

“Who said anything about dating, Mom?”

“Oh please. I am your mother and there is some tension around this area where you can slice it right in half.”

“Would you like to get coffee some time?” I ask, watching Laura’s face turn a shade of red.

“I would.” She smiles, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Are you free Wednesday around eleven?”

“I should be.” She says, walking over and digging through a backpack. “Here, let me take your number down and I’ll let you know.” She says, handing me her phone.

“There you go, Cupcake.” I chime, handing her back her phone. I then feel mine go off in my pocket.

“There, no you have mine.” She smiles, sticking her phone in her back pocket.

“You two are going to be grossly annoying if this becomes a thing.” Jane teases as she makes a gagging noise.

“I hate you, Mom.” Laura chimes, shoving her playfully.

“I’ll see you Wednesday.” I smile, as I pay for the cookies before walking away. 

* * *

“What has you all giddy?” Mattie asks on her way to the kitchen.

“Nothing, just talking to someone.” I chime as I text Laura back.

“Who is this someone? Is it that girl from Perry’s vision?”

“Yeah, her name is Laura. W-we have a date.”

“ _You_ have a _date_?”

“Yes, I have a date. Tomorrow, we’re going for coffee.”

“Who asked who?”

“Her mother kind of did it for both of us.”

“However it took place, at least you’re finally getting out there.” Mattie calls from the kitchen.

“What does that mean?”

“You’ve never been with anyone, hell, you never even went through a slutty phase in high school.”

“I had a few girlfriends in high school.”

“That you’d stay with for a month and then break-up with them.”

“Yeah, well. We both know how I was in high school.”

“All you did was smoke pot and read books.”

“Yeah. Laura though, she feels like I was waiting for her to come around.”

“You’re disgusting.” Mattie says, walking past me again and back into her room.

“Awe, thanks.” I tease as she rolls her eyes before closing the door.

 

-Laura POV-

“Where are you going?” My dad asks as I walk past the living room. I turn to face him, watching as he turns down the paper, looking at me with a smile.

“Out.”

“Out? You know the rule, Honey, as long as you live here you will still obey some form of law and order.”

“I met a girl at the farmer’s market.”

“What’s her name?”

“Carmilla, leave Laura alone.” My mom says, walking into the room and playfully hitting my dad’s arm.

“Thanks, Mom.” I smile. “I’ll be home later.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable doing.”

“Yeah, yeah. Because getting coffee is going to push me into making a mistake of some sort.” I say sarcastically as I walk out the door. I get in the car and drive downtown to meet with Carmilla. Once I park I take a deep breath, calming my nerves. I make my way to the coffee shop, pulling the collar of my coat up, seeing at the weather was beginning to change and the sea breeze was colder than usual. I look up to see Carmilla, her hands deep in her pockets of her leather jacket as she bounces on the balls of her feet.

“Hey.” She says with a bright smile. “How are you?”

“Good, let’s get out of the cold.” I smile as she opens the door to the café for me. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” She chimes. “What do you want?”

“Cocoa and a cookie.” I smile, unzipping my coat. “I’ll get a table.”

“Okay.” I find a table close to the fireplace that the café was famous for around town. Carmilla comes back a few moments later, placing a mug in front of me, and a chocolate chip cookie. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiles, taking the seat across from me.

“So…”

“So…”

“What do you like to do, aside from flirting with girls at a farmer’s market?”

“I’ve only ever flirted with you, Cupcake. Just for the record.”

“Well, aren’t I just so special.” I tease, taking a sip of my drink.

“Seeing as I don’t flirt often… you should feel such a way.”

“You seem like you have the best game in the entire world.”

“And yet, I don’t.” She snickers, taking a sip of her coffee. “I don’t want to jump into personal things just yet. Let’s keep it casual.”

“Okay, did you go to school?”

“I did, I went to Silas, I have a degree in Philosophy, with a minor in business and that’s only because my mother made me take it. You?”

“I’m getting my degree in Journalism, also at Silas. How old are you?”

“Twenty-three. You?”

“I’m nineteen.”

“You’re a youngin’.”

“It’s only four years.”

“That could be considered a lifetime.” She says.

“I could not even be of age and be on a date with you.”

“Touché.”

“How’s that bookstore of your coming along?”

“My mother is having people come in and renovate it to be up to her standard.” She says, rolling her eyes as she leans her elbows on the table.

“Is asking what she does too personal?”

“She’s a very successful business woman. That’s all you’re going to get right now. I don’t wasn’t to lose my air of mystery.”

“I feel as though you’re always going to be a mystery.”

“Why is that?”

“You just seem like the kind of person that will always have something new to learn about. I mean, all the wisdom you having being _so_ much older than me.” I tease, I watch as she smiles, balling up a napkin and throwing it at me.

“You’re going to be cheeky, aren’t you?”

“Potentially.” I shrug, taking a bite of my cookie. “I like keeping people on their toes.”

“I see. You’re lucky you’re cute, or that wouldn’t fly so much.”

“Good to know.” I smile.


	3. Chapter 3

-Laura POV-

“How was your date?” My mom asks, walking into my room with a grin, sitting down at my desk.

“It was good, she’s older than me.”

“So what, she’s cute and that’s all that matters.”

“I guess you’re right.” I laugh. “I like her, Mom.”

“You’re allowed to, I want to see you with someone who makes you happy. You know that. So does your father, we want what’s best for our girl.”

“I know, Mom.”

“You’ve been single for a while, if I’m being honest I’m just happy you went on a date.”

“I know, Mom.” I chime, reaching for my phone when it starts ringing.

“I’ll leave you be.” She smiles, getting up and leaving the room.

“Hey.” I say, answering the phone.

 _“Are you busy?”_ Carmilla asks.

“That depends on when you want me for.”

_“I just want to see you. In all honesty.”_

“That could be arranged.” I smile, getting off of my bed. “Where would you like me to meet you?”

_“This may sound corny, but wanna go to the mall? I have to go shopping.”_

“Okay.”

_“I’ll come pick you up, I’ll be there in a few.”_

“Okay, see you soon.” I smile, hanging up the phone. 

* * *

Once Carmilla finished doing what she needed to, we ended up in Barnes and Noble. Carmilla went in one direction and I went in another, after finding a couple of books I wanted, I wander over to and find Carmilla in the philosophy section, nose buried in one book while she had three others under her arm, I smile as I walk over to her, placing my hand in her back. “Anything interesting?” I ask, causing her to jump a bit.

“You scared me, Cupcake.” She smiles. “Not really, just rereading a couple of things, but I wanted to replace a couple of books I’ve lost over the years.” She says, holding up the books that were under her arm. “Do you want to go?”

“Sure.”

“What are you getting?”

“Same as you, replacing a few forgotten books.”

“I’ll get them for you.” She says, taking them from me.

“You don’t have to.”

“I insist.” Carmilla smiles leaning in to kiss my cheek as she takes my hand in hers and laces our fingers together.

“Are you going to feel bad about business if you can’t keep up with this place?”

“There are things this place offers that I don’t, and that’s fine. But the town needs a little intimate place that isn’t always busy and caters to people who love to read, and love peace. Kinda like a library I suppose.” Carmilla explains as we make our way out of the store. “Besides, where we live, we have to drive nearly thirty minutes to get here, meanwhile my store will be no more than five minutes away.”

“True, I know I don’t come here often due to the drive.”

“Yeah, it’s a pain. So hopefully the turnout will be worth it.” 

“I think it will be.” I smile.

“Are you doing anything else today?”

“No, I have to just finish a couple of assignments, why?”

“Do you want to come back to my place for a little bit?” Carmilla asks as we reach her car.

“Y-yeah. Sure.”

“You don’t have to, I don’t want you to feel forced into doing something…”

“No, I would like to spend more time with you.” I smile.

“Okay. I just want you to feel comfortable.”

“I know. And I am.”

“Okay then.” She smiles, opening the door for me.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“My sister is in the process of moving out, so there may be some boxes and things around.” I explain; unlocking the door to see the main living area was cleaner than when I left earlier today. “Seems like she got done sooner than expected. Do you want anything?”

“Tea, if it’s no trouble.”

“Not at all. Make yourself comfortable.” I say, helping her out of her coat.

“Thank you.” She smiles as I walk into the kitchen and fix us both a cup of tea. Once I fix the tea, I walk into the living room to see Laura looking at the pictures on the walls and bookshelves. Laura turns to me with a smile, taking the mug from my hands.

“It’s pretty hot, be careful.”

“Thank you.” She says, blowing on it slightly. “You were a pretty kid.”

“Thanks.” I laugh.

“You’re a more beautiful adult.”

“You just saved yourself, Cutie.” I tease, sitting down on the couch.

“You look like your mother.”

“I hear that a lot.”

“But you have your dad’s eyes. Based on that picture on the wall.”

“Yeah, I hear that a lot too.” I smile, as Laura sits beside me.

“Do you have a good relationship with your parents?”

“Mother and I are pretty good, my father passed away when I was young, so…”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It was well over ten years ago, so it’s gotten easier over the years, but I still miss him. He passed away soon after that picture was taken, maybe a couple of weeks to a month later.”

“I can’t imagine losing my dad. Or my mom.”

“It’s bound to happen though, Cupcake.

“I know it’s the inevitable.” Laura sighs as she rests her head on my shoulder.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” 

“Sure, what do you have in mind?”

“Something where someone dies.” I tease, causing Laura to punch me in the arm. “I didn’t think you would be so violent.” I chuckle, rubbing my arm.

“And I didn’t think you would be such a jerk.”

“It comes with the package, I’m getting you know now.”

“You’re lucky you’re attractive.” She mumbles.

“What was that? I need my ego boosted, can you repeat that?” I chime playfully, jumping up from the couch and walking over to my movies when she goes to hit me. I laugh as Laura rolls her eyes at me. “So what would you like to watch?”

“You can choose, just no death.”

“Got it.” I say, looking through my collection. “Does murder mystery count?”

“No, that’s an exception. Just nothing where someone dies suddenly or has an illness that kills them.”

“Okay, okay. What’s your favorite movie?”

“I don’t know if I have a real favorite.” She shrugs. “Do you have a favorite?”

“I have a lot of favorites.” I explain. “Too many in fact.”

“Pretty much every movie you see if a favorite?”

“Yeah. There are reasons why I want to see it, and then it becomes a favorite. Do you have a favorite anything?”

“My favorite shows are Dr. Who and Buffy. Veronica Mars is another favorite of mine.” 

“You’re more into TV?”

“Yeah, because I like to be home more often than not.”

“Good to know, Cupcake.” We ended up not watching anything, rather discussing things that we liked and disliked. After talking for well over two hours, Laura’s phone started to ring.

“It’s my dad.” She says, getting up from the couch, and walking towards the bathroom. She comes back a few minutes later with a sad smile. “I have to go, he wants me home.”

“That’s fine.” I say, getting up from the couch.

“Really?”

“Yeah, your dad wants you home and there isn’t anything to argue…”

“That’s going to get you points with my dad.”

“Good.” I nod.

 

-Laura POV-

Carmilla pulls up to the curb in front of my house, stopping the car and looking at me with a smirk. “Do you want to come in for a little bit? It’s still early.”

“No thanks, Cupcake. I don’t want to over step.”

“You’re not.” I say, shaking my head as I place my hand on her knee.

“Another time.” She smiles, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay.” I say, getting out of the car. I walk into the house to find my dad in his chair reading the paper.

“I’m surprised to see you home right away. That other girlfriend of yours never followed directives.”

“Yeah, well.” I shrug, making my way up to my room.

“What’s wrong?” My mom asks as she walks out of her room.

“Dad brought up Danny, you know I don’t like to discuss anything about her, like at all.”

“I know, sweetie. I know.”

“So then why doesn’t he?”

“He’s your father, there’s going to be something about Danny that he’ll have to compare it to everyone you date from now on. I don’t know what it is.”

“I don’t either, but I hate that he has to do it.”

“Just let it go.” She says, patting my cheek.

“She was such a bitch, it’s hard to let it go when I’m reminded of something she would do that he didn’t like. Can you talk to him, please?”

“Of course, Sweetie.” She smiles as I walk into my room. I walk over to my desk and open my laptop to start working when my phone starts ringing.

“Yeah?” I answer, no bothering to see who was calling.

“ _Frosh! What are you doing next weekend?_ ” My friend LaFontaine practically shouts through the phone.

“I don’t know yet, why?”

“ _Remember how I told you I met someone?_ ”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“ _I don’t know how, but I kind of dragged you into going on a double date with us._ ”

“Are you kidding me?”

“ _No, look I’m sorry, but you said you started seeing someone so I thought I would be okay…_ ”

“I’ll see what she’s doing and get back to you, when is this date?”

“ _A week from tomorrow, so next Saturday._ ”

“Okay, I’ll let Carm know.”

“ _Thank you so much, you have no ide how much I owe you._ ”

“You owe me big time!”

“ _I do, I do._ ”

“It’s borderline practically taking my Biology midterm for me.”

“ _If I could I would, but I will help you study for sure._ ”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll get back to you soon.”

“ _No, thank you._ ” They say before hanging up the phone. I sigh, placing my phone down on my desk and I rub my eyes a bit. I start writing a paper for one of my classes when my phone starts ringing again, I look to see it was Carmilla; I smile answering the phone.

“Hey you.” I chime.

“ _Are you screening your calls?_ ”

“When I’m trying to do work.”

“ _Oh, I’ll leave you be if you –_ ”

“No, you’re someone I want to talk to.” I say, putting the phone on speaker.

“ _What are you doing, you sound like you go through keyboards regularly._ ”

“I type with purpose.” I chime. “I’m trying to get an English paper done before midnight. I have most of it done, I’m just finishing the rest of it.”

“ _That sounds boring._ ”

“Says the philosophy major.”

“ _What does that mean?_ ”

“Don’t you have to write papers left and right when it comes to philosophy? Like you have to explain things and try to figure out if you’re crazy or if the world is real or not.” I tease, smiling as I hear Carmilla chuckle on the other end.

“ _I guess you have a point._ ”

“I have to take a philosophy course next semester, care to tutor me?”

“ _I’m trying not to let the inappropriate thoughts take over, Cupcake._ ”

“Don’t be a jerk, I’m serious.”

“ _I’ll help you broaden your mind, yes._ ”

“Thank you.”

“ _Any thing for you, Laura._ ”

“Speaking of that, would you mind going on a double date with a friend of mine? They met someone and somehow suckered me into going on a double date with them. I told Laf I’d ask you.”

“ _Sure, when it is._ ”

“A week from tomorrow.”

“ _I should be free, if anything changes I’ll let you know._ ”

“Thank you, Carm.”

“ _No problem, Cutie._ ” We fall into a comfortable conversation talking about nothing and everything all at the same time. There was something about Carmilla that made talking to her never tiresome, but engaging and all the more exciting every time she spoke about something, especially if she was passionate about the topic. “ _I feel like talked myself to death._ ”

“No, it’s fine, you kept me company while I finished this paper, thank you.”

“ _You finished?_ ”

“Yeah, talking to you made it go by faster it seems.”

“ _You’re welcome for helping you out, Cupcake._ ”

“I like hearing you talk, so you’re lucky.”

“ _Good to know. My mom is calling, I’ll have to talk to you later._ ”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Carm.”

“ _Goodnight, Cupcake._ ”


	4. Chapter 4

-Laura POV-

“Okay, take a deep breath in.” Jack says as she walks amongst us instead of instructing the class from the front of the room. “And reach as you go into warrior pose.” She says, coming up next to me. “Keep your leg back here, Hollis.” She chimes. “Remember to stretch and hold your core.” She explains as she begins to move away. Once the class was over, Jack walks over to me with a smile. “Hey.” She chimes.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m well. How’s everything with you?”

“Good.” I smile as I pull my boots on.

“Are you doing anything special for the holidays?”

“No, just going to be home.”

“Are you still with Danny?”

“You know I’m not with her anymore, Jay. Don’t play dumb.”

“Right, right.” She chimes.

“And no I won’t go out with you.” I say, pushing her arm playfully.

“Why not?”

“You know why. It’s weird to see you as anything more than my yoga teacher.”

“Well, you could always reconsider.” She smirks.

“Not really. Besides, I’m seeing someone.” I chime, rolling up my yoga mat and putting it in my backpack.

“Who’s the lucky gal? Or guy? One can’t assume anything anymore.” Jack says, walking over and pulling on her sweatshirt.

“I’m not telling you because it isn’t your business.”

“C’mon, don’t do that to me!”

“It isn’t, Jack. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.” I say, walking out of the room. 

* * *

“Laura, Dear!” My call calls up the stairs.

“Yeah?”

“Someone is here to see you!” I get up from my desk, confused as to who it is. I make my way downstairs to see Carmilla standing in the entryway, wiping her feet on the rug.

“Hey, Cupcake.” She smiles, taking her coat off.

“Hi. W-what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” She says quietly. “My phone’s been acting up and I haven’t had time to get a new one, so I just rode over here and saw your car was in the driveway. I – I hope that’s okay?”

“It’s okay.” I smile, taking her by the hand. “We’ll go to my room.”

“Keep you’re door open, Pumpkin!” My dad calls out as he continues to watch TV.

“Ugh. Yeah, yeah.” I whisper to myself as I walk into my room and close the door over a bit. “So, what did you want to talk about? You can sit anywhere you like by the way.” I say, walking over and sitting in my desk.

“So, Christmas is in a couple of weeks, and my mom tends to get into it a bit, I was wondering if you would like to come by on Christmas? You get to meet some of my family and whatnot.” She shrugs, looking around the room as she tries to avoid eye contact with me.

“Look at me.” I say, walking as her head snaps towards me.

“I know we aren’t officially dating or anything like that, but I like you. I like you a lot and would like for you to come and meet my family and spend the holiday with us, but if you don’t want to or have other plans. What am I saying, I know you have other plans; you do have a family and parents of your own. You probably have something in order already…”

“Carmilla, breathe.” I say with a chuckle, getting up and sitting on my bed beside her.

“Sorry.”

“We still have time to think about Christmas, but I would love to spend it with you and your family.” I smile, brushing the hair away from her face. “I like you a lot too, but I’m not ready to make anything official just yet.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I do.” She nods, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “I don’t want to push you.”

“Thanks.” I smile. “How’s everything with the store?”

“I should be opening this Sunday, if you want to come by.”

“I’d love to. What about moving?”

“All done, the apartment above the store is all mine and looks great too. You’re welcome to come by whenever you want to.” She smiles, reaching into her pocket and handing me a key. “Don’t feel special, I had a few made, and you’re one of the lucky ones that gets one.”

“Thanks.” I smile, taking the key from her and kissing her cheek.

“You’re welcome, Cupcake.” Carmilla whispers, taking my face in her hands leaning in and kissing me softly. It took a moment for me to process what was happening before I kissed her back. “Sorry.” She whispers, resting her forehead on mine.

“Don’t be.” I say, kissing her again. “We still have a double date by the way.”

“Tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, Laf and their new girlfriend or significant other… I don’t know. But yeah, that’s tomorrow.” I chime, moving to straddle Carmilla’s waist. I look down at her to see her smile as she puts her hands on my waist.

“What happens if your dad comes up the stairs?” Carmilla whispers, looking behind me to watch the door.

“I’m an adult. I can do whatever I please.” I say, leaning down to kiss her as I heel her hands wrap around me.

“Is someone coming up the stairs?” Carmilla asks, sitting up straight.

“Are you seriously paranoid?”

“Your dad scares me, Cupcake.”

“Really?” I say, holding back a laugh as I kiss her quickly before getting off of her. “He’s harmless. He just puts on that front because I’m his only child. I swear he’s the parent that needed another kid so he wouldn’t worry about me so much.” I say, lying down and looking up at the ceiling. “So you really gave me the key to your apartment?” I say, playing with it.

“I bullshitted you about making more copies, I only gave one to you, and my siblings… and Mother. To me they don’t count all that much, I haven’t even given Ell one yet.”

“I got one before your best friend?”

“Yeah.” Carmilla smiles, turning to lie on her side and face me.

“You must really like me then.”

“I mean… I guess so.”

“Good, I like you too, you know that. This isn’t news.” 

“Wanna go out? Like a date without your friend… Maybe this week.”

“I would like that.”

“Dinner and a movie? Or we’ll do something not so clichéd.”

“Clichéd is good for me though, I don’t mind it at all.”

“Okay, cliché dinner and a movie it is.” Carmilla smiles as she leans in to kiss me softly. 

* * *

“Are you sure I look okay?” Laf asks, pulling at their tie again. 

“You look fine, nothing to worry about.”

“I’ve never been nervous before Frosh, you know that.”

“You must really like this person then.” 

“I do, like holy shit I do.”

“Well, she must like you enough to go on a date with you.” I tease, causing them to shove me playfully.

“Shut up, Hollis.” They say through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, yeah. If it wasn’t for Carm and I you’d be going on your date alone.” 

“You know I’m awkward by myself.”

“That’s why I’m going with you.” I say, looking at my phone to see Carmilla texted me. “Carm’s outside, are we driving with you, or are you picking her up and we’re meeting you?”

“I’m going to pick up Perry and you’re going to meet us at the restaurant.”

“Okay.” I say, gathering my things before making my way downstairs to see my mom getting the door. “It’s Carmilla.”

“Okay sweetie.”

“Hi, Jane. How are you?” Carmilla says with a polite smile. 

“I’m doing well Carmilla, how are you?”

“Very well, thank you.” She says, looking over at me with a smile. “You like beautiful Laura.” She says, walking over and kissing me on the cheek.

“Thank you, you clean up fairly well yourself.” I chime. “We’ll be home later.”

“Not too late!” My dad calls out.

“Of course Mr. Hollis.” Carmilla says. We make our way outside; I pull my scarf around my neck as Carmilla takes my hand in hers.

“I’ll see you guys soon.” Laf waves as they walk to their car. I follow Carmilla to hers, she opens the door for me and I smile, kissing her cheek before getting into the car. I watch as Carmilla runs over to the driver’s side, getting in and turning the car on, putting her hands in front of the air vents.

“It’s fucking cold.” She mumbles.

“And you have gloves on.” I chime, taking one of her hands in mine, rubbing them around hers to create friction to warm her up.

“Thank you.” She smiles as she leans in to kiss me.

“You’re welcome.” I whisper against her lips, kissing her again. “Ready to go?”

“I guess so.” 

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t like meeting new people.”

“You didn’t have a problem when you met me…”

“I was instantly attracted to you, Cupcake.” She smiles, leaning in to kiss me again. “I’ll be okay, just don’t let me go?” She says, squeezing my hand.

“I won’t.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

 “How did they get here before us?” Laura asks as we pull into the parking lot to see Laf’s car.

“Well we were warming up my hands, Sweetheart. That seemed to take a minute.”

“True. Ready?”

“Yeah.” I smile, leaning over to kiss her quickly. We get out of the car; Laura walks up beside me and takes my hand in hers. I kiss the side of her head as we make our way inside the restaurant.

“Hey.” Laura says to Laf, waving at them. They are talking to someone who we can’t see due to a wall. Laf smiles at them, as the two make their way over, Laf’s date and I burst out laughing.

“Uhm, am I missing something?” Laf asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“Holy shit, talk about a small world.” I say.

“You’re telling me. Is this Laura?”

“Yeah, Laura. This is a good friend of mine, Perry. Perry, this is Laura.”

“Well then, that makes things a lot easier.” I chime.

“You still get anxious meeting new people?”

“You know that, it isn’t news.”

“Well… I would like to see you this week.”

“Okay.” I nod.

“Well, this is Perry.” Laf says, slightly deflated.

“Oh don’t be that way, I’ve known Carmilla for years. At least you know I’m going to like your friends.”

“True.” They say with a nod. “Well, let’s get our table then.” Dinner was pleasant, especially with Perry being there rather than having to meet someone new. Laura held my hand under the table nearly the entire time, glancing over at me every so often to give me a shy smile. “Perry tells me you’ve opened a bookstore.” Laf chimes from across the table, breaking me from my trance of looking at Laura.

“Yes, I have. Not too far from Perry’s shop. We’re neighbors.”

“That’s cool.”

“I’m having a grand opening celebration this weekend, I have to talk to my mother, seeing as she planned it.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Oh, stop. Your mother does do much for you, let her make you a party.” Perry says.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to have the party, Mother just sets things up without telling me.” I say, taking a sip from my drink. “Or, she tells me last minute so I can’t object.”

“Which is what happened?” Laura chuckles.

“Pretty much. You’re all invited to come.”

“I wouldn’t miss it, you know that.” Laura chimes, kissing my cheek.

“Thanks, Cupcake.” I look over to see Perry forcing a smile. “You okay, Curly Sue?”

“I’m good, I’m excited to see the store.” She says frantically.

“You’re still so odd, even with your new mate beside you.”

“Yeah, well some things never change.”

* * *

“Why are you pacing like a nut?” Ell asks, walking over and putting her hands out to stop me.

“I don’t know why she isn’t here yet.”

“Who?”

“Laura, I don’t know why Laura isn’t here yet, she said she was ten minutes away and that was fifteen minutes ago!”

“Just give her some time, everything’s going to be okay.” Ell says, going over to one of the tables, getting me a drink. “We’re here to celebrate the opening of your store, not worry yourself to death.”

“You don’t get it, Ell.”

“What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it fucking sound like.” I snap, making my way outside. I sit on the back steps that lead to my apartment, digging into my pocket to get a cigarette and lighting it. I take a drag and feel my phone vibrate in my other pocket. “Hello?” I ask, answering the unrecognized number.

_“Carmilla?”_

“Yes, who’s calling?”

_“It’s Jane. Laura was in an accident, she keeps asking for you since we got here. She wants you to know she is okay, just very shaken up and would like to see you.”_

“Yeah, of course. Tell her I’ll be there in a little bit.” I say, putting out my cigarette and making my way back into the store.

_“Of course. Just be careful getting here.”_

“I will.” I walk through the store and see a flash of red curls over by the psychology section. I make my way over there, cornering Perry. “Did you see something happening to Laura and neglected to tell me?” I whisper through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit, Perry.”

“She isn’t hurt.”

“Thank God for that. You’re always quick to tell me everything, why did you hold back on this one?”

“Because you had a lot going on and a lot to think about, I didn’t want you to worry about that too.”

“Anything you see with Laura in it, you tell me. I don’t care what’s going on, I have the right to know she’s safe.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, not I have to go to see if she’s okay. So you can explain that to Mother when she comes looking for me.” I say, rushing out of the store.

* * *

“Can I help you?” A nurse asks as I approach the nurse’s station.

“I’m looking for Laura Hollis.”

“What is your relation?”

“She’s my girlfriend.” I say, trying to keep my composure.

“Carm!” I look over to see Laura sitting in a wheelchair not too far behind the nurse’s station. “Can you please let her back?” The nurse sighs, pushing a button to open the door, I walk over to Laura and lean down to kiss her.

“Are you okay?”

“Some ass hole rear ended me. I’m just sore, they hit me pretty good.”

“Do you need anything?”

“A new car.” She teases.

“We’ll go look.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. I’ll help you out with whatever you need.” I say, kissing the side of her head.

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you Cupcake.”


	5. Chapter 5

-Carmilla POV-

“Carm?” I hear Laura call out from behind me.

“Hey, Cupcake.” I smile, walking out of my kitchen and over to her. “How are you?”

“Good, still a little sore.” She says as I help her out of her coat. “How are you?” She asks, kissing me quickly.

“I’m good. Do you want anything?”

“Water, please.”

“No problem.” I smile, walking into the kitchen.

“It smells good in here.”

“What did you think when I asked you over for dinner?”

“You’d order take out.” She chimes as I hand her a bottle of water.

“Are you surprised that I can cook?” I ask, walking towards her, pushing her against the counter, and trapping her there by putting my hands on either side of her waist.

“Slightly.” She whispers, looking down at my mouth before leaning in to kiss me.

“At least it’s only slightly.”

“Is that why you asked me if I don’t like certain things?”

“Yes, so I settled on something simple.”

“It doesn’t seem simple.” She says, looking around to see pots and pans on the counters, and vegetables all over the place.

“I never said I was a neat cook.” I laugh, kissing her again before going back to my pot on the stove. “And it’s hard to adapt to just cooking or two people, seeing as soup is meant to feed a small army.”

“What kind of soup is that?”

“Chicken and rice. It’s an old recipe of my nana’s. Figured it would be nice on this cold day.”

“If this is any good, you’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”

“I hope it’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten.” I smile. “You don’t have to be in here with me if you don’t want to, you can go watch TV or something.”

“Do you need help?”

“I’m okay, Cupcake. Thank you though.” I smile, walking over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ll be in in a couple of minutes. It’s practically done; it just needs to heat up. Find something to watch while we wait?”

“Okay.” She smiles, kissing my cheek before walking into the living room. I walk in to see she has settled on some kind of baking show, something she looked very engrossed in. I sit down beside her, and wrap my arm around her. “Hey.” She smiles, kissing me quickly before going back to the show.

“You look as though you’re about to drool.”

“I have a sweet tooth, this isn’t news.”

“I know, Cupcake.”

“Do you bake?”

“If I did, I don’t think I’d have had the chance to meet you.” I say, brushing the hair from her face. Smiling as she turns a shade of red.

“Well then, your lack of baking is fate then. Maybe I’ll have to give you a lesson.”

“In baking? That could be fun.” I say, playfully wiggling my eyebrows, causing Laura to push my shoulder playfully.

“You’re so annoying.” Laura says with a laugh.

“Yeah, well.” I shrug, turning my attention to the TV when I fee Laura kiss my cheek.

“You’re lucky you’re adorable.”

“Thanks, Cupcake.” I smile, hearing the timer go off in the kitchen. “Would you rather eat here or in the kitchen?” I ask, getting up from the couch.

“Is here okay?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t.” I go into the kitchen and fix us each a bowl of soup, as well as some bread and crackers, seeing as I wasn’t sure what Laura would want more, I put everything on a tray and carry it into the living room, putting it on the coffee table in front of Laura.

“Thank you.” Laura says, smiling sweetly as she grabs a bowl from the tray. 

“You’re welcome, do you want anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

“No problem, Cupcake.” I say; kissing her cheek once I sit back down beside her. “I hope you like it.” I say as I watch her take a bite.

“You made this?”

“Is it bad?”

“That’s not the question.” She smiles, taking another spoonful.

“Yes, I made it. From scratch.”

“It’s really good.”

“Thank God. I though you were gonna hate it.”

“No, it’s really good. I may have to keep you around.” She teases. “My mom doesn’t cook all that well, she’s got a knack for baking, and my dad can barely boil water, so…”

“I’m not complaining about having to be kept around based on how well I’m cook.” I smile, beginning to eat. Laura once again got lost in her baking show while we ate dinner, as soon as the episode was over; she looks at me with a smile, leaning in to kiss me, catching me off guard slightly.

“Thank you.” She says, kissing me again.

“You’re welcome.” I smile. I get up and gather the dishes, bringing them into the kitchen. I stood at the sink, washing the dishes when I feel Laura wrap her arms around me from behind, kissing the back of my neck. “Seeing as you took the time away from your show to come in here, can you help me dry?”

“Sure.” Laura shrugs, taking the dishtowel from my hand.

“What?” I ask, as Laura looks at me curiously.

“Nothing.”

“No, tell me.”

“This just feels really domestic.”

“Does it bother you?”

“N-no, it doesn’t. And I think that’s the part that confuses me a bit. I mean, I’m nineteen and the though of this being a potentially constant thing doesn’t bother me. Does it bother you?”

“I think when it comes to settling down, whatever the real meaning of that is, it depends on the person and when they are ready. If you’re ready at nineteen then that’s great, I feel whenever that right person comes around, that’s the time to think things through.”

“By that you mean?”

“I want to start thinking and considering things, Cupcake.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her. “I know this hasn’t been going on long, but there is something about you that makes things feel right.”

“I feel the same way.” She smiles, kissing me again. “This just feels normal and right.”

“But we will take things slowly, I don’t want to rush into choices that we may regret down the road.”

“Of course. I still want to focus on school and I’m not ready to live away from my parents just yet. I know that, but I wouldn’t object to spending evenings with you after class and on my days off, and on your days off. I mean, expect me to be a regular at the store and all.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” I chime, kissing the side of her head as she finished drying the soup pot. “Although, you may have to buy a cup of coffee at the least, seeing as I don’t want people thinking they could just come and hang out, it isn’t a library.” I tease.

“Can I bring my own coffee in a to go cup?”

“I’ll make an exception for that.” I chime, kissing her quickly. “I’ll give you some of the ones I ordered so no one catches on.”

“How noble of you.” Laura teases, kissing me again. “Am I not getting dessert from you?”

“I have cookie dough ice cream in the freezer, and two spoons.”

“Perfect.” Laura hums, walking over and getting the ice cream from the freezer. “Spoons?” 

“That drawer to the left of the fridge.” I point out, she goes to the drawer, pulling out two spoons and making her way back to the couch. I follow, plopping down beside her as she hands me a spoon and opens the container. “Did you use your dad’s car to get here?”

“I was wondering when the question was going to come up.” Laura says, with a mouthful of ice cream. “Yeah, I did.”

“I want to take you tomorrow to look at cars.”

“Carmilla, I don’t want you to do that for me.”

“I want to though, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t help you get a car.”

“I never said that, I just want to. I’m comfortable enough where I can help you out. I’m not going to get you a Tesla or something like that, but if you want something and you need some extra cash to get it, that’s what I want to help you with.”

“I have like two thousand dollars saved. I wanted to try to save another thousand but that will take too long.”

“I’ll match your two thousand and add on to it.”

“No.” Laura says firmly.

“Please. I promise I’ll never do something extravagant ever again. Well, not never again, but for a long time.”

“Will it make you happy?”

“It will make me happy to know that you’re happy and have your own car.”

“Fine, you can buy me a car. I don’t care what it is, and you can’t spend more than ten thousand, seeing as you’re offering so bad.”

“Do you have a preference of vehicle type?”

“As long as it had four wheels, and a steering wheel, I don’t care what it is.”

“Okay.” I smile, kissing her quickly. “Do you want it to be a surprise or do you want to come with me?”

“When do you plan on going?”

“Some time this week, maybe Wednesday.”

“I’ll go with you. I don’t trust that you’ll stay within the price limit.” Laura chimes.

“Okay, Cupcake.” I smile, leaning in and kissing her. 

* * *

“Ready?” I ask, pulling up to the used car dealership.

“You’re not allowed to go over, no matter what.”

“You’re picking it, I’m signing the check, that’s all that matters.”

“Right.” Laura says, getting out of my car, she walks over, taking my hand in hers and lacing our fingers together. We walk through the lot, while Laura looks at different cars, some she liked, most of them she didn’t like. “Carm.” She says with a gasp, hitting my arm like a mad woman.

“Cupcake, I’d like to not be bruised at the end of the day.” I say, rubbing my arm.

“I want that one!” She says pointing to a maroon Jeep Wrangler, the sticker marking that it was a 2010.

“Really?”

“Yes. Please? I know it’s over the budget – ”

“The one that you set for me.” I chime, poking her side.

“I know but I’ll put up the difference. And let me put up the difference.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.” I smile, as she wraps me in a hug. “I just want to look at it and make sure it starts okay and doesn’t have a lot of miles.”

“Okay.” She chimes looking over to see a man walking towards us with a smile, she lets go of my hand and begins talking to him, coming back a few moments later with the set of keys. “Do you want to look?”

“Yeah, I want to hear it.” I say, taking the keys from her and opening to car. I get in and turn it on. “You really want this one?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” I smile, laughing as she lunges her self at me and kisses me.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I whisper in her ear as she hugs me tight. “You’re dad is going to be happy.”

“Why is that?”

“He spoke to me about making sure to get you something reliable. I feel like he’ll be happy at the choice, and don’t worry about the difference, your dad gave me money to put towards it.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

 

-Laura POV-

I walk through the door to see Dad sitting in the living room, watching TV, and Mom reading a book. “Hey, Sweetheart! How did you do?”

“Come look.” I say excitedly, nearly jumping up and down. My parents looked at each other and smiled, getting up from their seats and following me outside. “Ta-dah!” I say, gesturing to the Jeep in the driveway.

“Wow.” Dad says, nodding approvingly. “Where’s Carmilla?”

“She’ll be over soon, she just had to run to get something.” I say, leading them to the car. “Wait here she is.” I say, looking over Mom’s shoulder to see Carmilla walking over to us with her hands behind her back.

“Hey, I had to go get this.” She says, holding up a red bow, she opens the car and puts in on the rearview mirror.

“How did you do?” Dad asks Carmilla with a smile.

“Very well, went slightly over the budget that Laura set for me, but all in all, it’s a good car, surprisingly low mileage, and it sounded brand new. The previous owner didn’t abuse it like some Jeep owners do, apparently an older man just wanted something reliable in the snow.”

“Good, thank you again, Carmilla for offering to help her.”

“No problem at all Mr. Hollis. I want to help Laura wherever necessary.”

“Please, Carmilla, call me Sherman.” Dad says, causing both my mother and I to look at him in amazement.

“Okay, Sherman.” Carmilla chimes, a small smile on her face.

“Are you really going to let her call you Sherman?” Mom asks, nearly falling over.

“Yes, why not. She’s a nice girl and I feel like she isn’t going anywhere any time soon, she respects Laura and treats her properly. I don’t think you should let her go, Sweetie. She’s a keeper.”

“I know she is, Daddy.” I smile, giving Carmilla a kiss on the cheek. Carmilla smiles sweetly, before giving me a quick kiss. 

* * *

“So, where are you going to run away to in your car?” Carmilla teases as we lay on my bed.

“No where, unless you come with me.” I chime, turning to face her.

“I guess I am stuck with you that, aren’t I?

“My father is allowing you to call him, Sherman. That alone is a sign that you’re going to have a hard time letting me go, and he’s going to come after you if something happens to me.”

“I’m kidding, Cupcake. I would go anywhere with you. Without a second thought, or question in the world.” She says, leaning in to kiss me.

“I’m going to hold you to that.” I whisper against her lips, leaning in to kiss her again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Has been edited accordingly due to my forgetfulness on the fact that I made it so Carmilla's father was dead.*

-Laura POV-  
  
I walk into Carmilla’s store and sigh at the warmth inside compared to the cold air outside. I go over to where I saw her stacking books on a shelf, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Hey Cupcake.” She chimes, turning to kiss my cheek before finishing up what she was doing. “How are you?”  
  
“Cold.” I say, burying my face in the crook of her neck.  
  
“I can tell, your nose is like ice.”  
  
“Yeah well, it’s supposed to snow soon.”  
  
“Are you staying over if it does?” She asks. Carmilla and I have been together for about a month now, it has been an eventful month and I wouldn’t change it for anything.  
  
“Possibly, I have to go home and start wrapping presents for Christmas. Although I have some stuff in the car for my parents that I was planning on wrapping here anyway.”  
  
“Thanks for the heads up.” Carmilla teases, walking towards the front of the store. “You can bring that upstairs if you want to.”  
  
“Okay. I’ll run it up and be right back.”  
  
“On second thought wait until I close. We’ll go up together.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because I said so.”  
  
“You got me something didn’t you? You’re afraid I’ll find it.” I chime, watching Carmilla’s face turn red.  
  
“Maybe.”  
  
“Awe, Carm.” I say, kissing her cheek repeatedly. “You didn’t have to get anything.”  
  
“But I wanted to.”  
  
“Thank you.” I smile. “I got you something too, just so you know.”  
  
“W-what are we doing for Christmas? Are we spending it together?”  
  
“I would rather we make our own Christmas. I’ll be with my family all day.”  
  
“And I’ll be with mine.”  
  
“So why don’t we get together at night, once everyone is drunk and unaware of our absence. We’ll come back here and have our own little Christmas?” I suggest, wrapping my arms around her waist.  
  
“Sounds perfect.” Carmilla says, leaning in to kiss me softly. 

* * *

“What did you get your parents?” Carmilla asks, walking into the living room where I was sat on the floor wrapping their gifts, she smiles at me. “I don’t want to corrupt you, and I don’t want to be the person to… I don’t know. But anyway, would you like a beer?”

“No thank you, I’m not a fan of drinking, I’ve tried it and I don’t have the taste for it.” I say, making a face as Carmilla sighs a bit. “And I don’t care if you like to have a beer or two, so don’t feel bad.”

“Okay, what would you like then?”

“I would love a cup of tea.” I smile, looking up from what I was doing.

“No problem.” Carmilla smiles, bending over to kiss me before making her way back towards the kitchen.

“Son of a bitch!” I shout after getting a paper cut.

“Are you okay?” Carmilla calls out.

“Paper cut!”

“Do you need anything?”

“I’ll live.” I chime, watching Carmilla as she puts a mug on the coffee table and sits on the floor beside me.

“What would be a good thing for me to get your parents?”

“You don’t have to do that, Carm.”

“I want to. They’re always so nice to me.”

“I don’t know, maybe get them a bottle of wine, something simple.” I say, taping up one of the gifts. “My mom likes wine, Dad will be happy with a new hat and scarf.”

“I’ll make note of it, where did you learn to wrap gifts like that?”

“Oh I didn’t tell you? Martha Stewart is my aunt.”

“Really?” Carmilla asks, her eyes bulging out of her head.

“I’m kidding.” I laugh. “I just got the knack of it from watching my mom, and my mild undiagnosed OCD.” I look over to see Carmilla chuckle. “What? You probably wrap gifts like a ten-year-old.”

“That’s why they invented the gift bag.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I say, rolling my eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure?”

“Why don’t you have a tree? I see you decorated slightly, but you don’t have a tree.”

“When I moved in here I neglected to get a new one.” Carmilla shrugs. “Besides I’m half Jewish, so my dad would celebrate Chanukah and my mother would celebrate Christmas.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ve ever talked about your parents.”

“There isn’t much to talk about. They were both very wealthy and Mother is willing to help us as much as possible, but I only see her during the holidays or if I have to.” Carmilla explains.

“Why don’t you want to live the life of luxury?”

“I would rather live like a normal person. I don’t need to have a big house with more rooms in it than people; I don’t need a tennis court on my property or an Olympic size swimming pool in the back yard. Give me this apartment and the money to fix it up how I want and I’m happy. I don’t want the life my parents have. Although I get enough money to travel when I want to. Mother insists on giving me some form of accessible money, so she does put some in an account and I use that to travel.” 

“Where do you like to go?”

“Everywhere and anywhere.” Carmilla shrugs. “I want to go to Australia soon.” She says with a small smile. “Would you come with me?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I – I don’t have a passport. I can’t miss school either….”

“You wouldn’t miss school, we can go in the summer, and by the time we go you’ll have more than enough time to get you passport. I want you to come with me. I want to travel with you.” She says gently, reaching over and taking my hand in hers. “Where do you want to go?”

“If given the opportunity to go anywhere? I would want to go all across Europe. The whole continent.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? What do you mean okay?”

“We’ll travel across Europe one day.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course.” She says with a smile. “I would never lie to you, Cupcake.” Carmilla places her hand on my cheek, pulling me in for a soft kiss.

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Are you leaving already, Sweetie?” Mother asks, catching me as I make my way towards the door.

“Uh, I have to get back to my place.”

“You _have_ to?”

“I have plans.”

“Are you going to introduce me to this girl anytime soon? Mattie said you’ve been seeing someone.” She says with a small smile.

“Soon, I promise. I just don’t want everyone else to meet her yet. But you can come around whenever you want to, and I’ll let her know.” 

“Does she have a name?”

“Laura.” I say, fighting the smile on my face.

“She must make you happy.”

“She makes me the happiest woman in the whole world, Mom.”

“And for that, I will let you go.” She smiles, giving me a hug. “Merry Christmas, Sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom. I promise, you’ll meet Laura soon. I’ll talk to her about it when I see her.” 

“Okay.”

* * *

I pull into the alleyway between Perry’s building and mine, where I usually park my car, and see Laura was already there. I smile, getting out of the car and making my way up the steps taking them two at a time until I reached the apartment door. I unlock it to see Laura sitting on the couch with a smile on her face. “Merry Christmas, Carm.” She says, walking over and wrapping me in a hug, kissing me softly. “It’s okay I let myself in?”

“I wouldn’t have given you a key if it wasn’t.” I say, kissing her again. “Merry Christmas.”

“How was your parents’ place?”

“Okay, it was nice to see some of my aunt, uncles and cousins. But I couldn’t wait to get here to see you.”

“Really? Or do you just want to know what your present is?”

“Both.”

“Well then.”

“I have to get yours from my room. I’ll be right back.” I say, kissing her quickly before going into my room where I had her gift hidden. I go back onto the living room, plopping down on the couch beside Laura. “Do you want to go first?”

“Sure.” She says, smiling as I have her a gift bag. “You didn’t even try to wrap it?”

“I didn’t want you to go through the pain of seeing a poorly wrapped gift.”

“Thank you for sparing me.” She says, rolling her eyes before kissing me quickly and pulling out the tissue paper from the bag. She starts by pulling out the envelope, opening it and gasping. “W – what? How?”

“We leave in June, we’ll be gone for a while. Maybe a month or so, we start in London and we’ll go however you want to.” I explain. “You have more than enough time to file for your passport, and we could always expedite the process.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Laura says quietly. “Thank you so much.”

“I know it’s a while away, but I was hoping it’s something to look forward to.”

“I can’t wait.” She says, leaning in and kissing me again.

“There are other things.”

“I know. But this is the best.”

“Okay, I can take the other stuff back.”

“You will not.” She says, going back into the bag. Laura takes out the box, looking at me with a knowing smile. “You didn’t have to get me jewelry.”

“I wanted to. I saw it and I couldn’t leave it there.” I explain as she opens the box and reveals a necklace with a small heart pendant. “It caught my eye. I know it’s very plain, but I wanted to get it for you.” I explain. She continues to go through the rest of the bag; pulling out DVDs she mentioned she wanted, among other things I learned she liked over the past few months of knowing her.

“Thank you, Carm.”

“You’re welcome, Cupcake.” I say leaning in and kissing her quickly before unwrapping the gift she had for me.

“If you don’t like it…”

“I don’t want you to return it, if that’s what you’re getting at.” I say. I take the lid off of the box and smile, pulling out a black leather vest.

“I caught on to your style pretty quickly, and I saw this a while ago and thought you would like it, so I bought it and waited until it would be the right time to give it to you. So then I though Christmas would be good. I hope you like it, and I hope it fits.” Laura rambles nervously as I put the vest on.

“It fits.” I smile; walking over to the mirror I had hanging by the door. “I love it.”

“You do?”

“I do. Thank you so much.” I say, walking back over to Laura and kissing her.

“It makes me feel like I didn’t do as well as you though… You planned a trip. And all I got you was this vest." 

“Hey, don’t think that way.” I say, kneeling in front of her. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to be extravagant with me. I want you to know that the only times I may seem extravagant is when it comes to doing things together. The trip is for us to enjoy together, not just for you, but I’m treating you to most of the expenses. The main expenses I’ll take care of, you can do what you want without having to worry about airfare and hotels.” I explain as she looks at me with a small smile. “The necklace was something I bought a while ago, and when we were talking about traveling a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help but jump of the opportunity to travel with you.” I smile.

“I’m sorry for overreacting.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just know that I don’t want you feeling guilty that you can’t buy me elaborate things.”

“I know.”

“Speaking of elaborate things.” I say, taking the vest of and sitting down beside Laura. “My mother wants to meet you."

“She does?”

“Yeah, soon. Mattie kind of blew my cover and now Mother is insisting on meeting you.”

“Don’t you want me to meet your mom?”

“I do, I just wanted to keep you to myself a bit longer before I introduced you to her.”

“She that bad?”

“She can be a bit of a handful, to me at least. I feel like that could be overwhelming, which is why I moved nearly an hour away.”

“Well, I would like to meet her when the time is set.” Laura says, leaning in and kissing me.

“It’s just a big deal for me, seeing as I’ve never had anyone meet my mother before, not even the few people I dated in high school.”

“You must really like me then.”

“I do. I like you a lot.” I smile. 

* * *

“Carm, you don’t have to squeeze my hand to death.” Laura says as we drive up the path to my mom's house. “Holy shit, this place it big.”

“I know. It’s too big for my liking.” 

“I know.” Laura says, looking over at me with a small smile when I park the car in the driveway. “Are you okay?

“I should be asking you that.” I sigh, looking down at our hands.

“I’m fine, I’m excited to meet your mother. The second you feel like you want to leave, just let me know and we’ll go.”

“Okay.” I nod, looking up as Laura leaned in and kissed me.

“Everything will be fine, I think you’re overreacting.”

“I’m just nervous, I know this is a big step in any kind of relationship, it isn’t easy to deal with and I don’t know how Mother is going to act."

“It will be fine.” Laura laughs. “Come on, let’s get it over with and see what happens so you can feel better about worrying.”

“Okay.” I say, taking a deep breath and kissing Laura one last time before getting out of the car. Laura takes my hand in hers again as we walk towards the front door. “Okay.” I sigh, opening the front door. “Hello?”

“Carmilla, Darling.” My mother says, walking towards us from the kitchen area as I help Laura out of her coat.

“Hello, Mother.” I say as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. “This is my girlfriend Laura. Laura, this is my mother.”

“Nice to meet you.” Laura says politely, taking my mother’s hand to shake it. “You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you. It is a pleasure to meet you too.” Mother smiles. “Carmilla doesn’t often bring over anyone she’s in a relationship with, so today to have you here is wonderful. I’ve heard a lot about you from what Carmilla has told Mattie, seeing as Carmilla doesn’t talk to me as often as I would like for her to.” She explains, giving me a sad smile. “But she’s an adult. Anyway, come into the kitchen, would you like anything?”

“Can I have a coffee, Mother?”

“Of course, and you Laura?”

“Coffee is fine.” She says, taking hand as I reach for hers, giving it a squeeze.

“So, I’ve heard from Mattie the briefing of how you two met, but I would like to hear it from you two.” Mother chimes, making a fresh pot of coffee.

“Carmilla was buying cookies for her niece when she started flirting with me at the farmer’s market where my mother and I sell homemade cookies. My mother is a fantastic baker.”

“I heard. Riley says she loved the cookies.”

“Which is why I went there again to get her more.” I chime.

“Yes, and my mother was kind of the one that pushed us into getting coffee. And the rest is history, as they say.” Laura says with a smile, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

“So what do you do Laura?”

“I’m a student at Silas studying Journalism.”

“That’s wonderful. Carmilla went to Silas, it’s a wonderful school.”

“We talked about that, Mother.”

“Ah. Sorry. How old are you, Laura? If you don’t mind.”

“I’m nineteen, I’ll be twenty in February.”

“That’s nice. You seem like a lovely girl and I’m happy for you both.” Mother says. She and Laura fall into conversation and get to know each other while we all sipped coffee.

“Want to come see something?” I whisper in Laura’s ear.

“Okay.” She says with a small nod as I take her hand in mine.

“I’m going to show Laura around a bit.”

“Okay.” Mother smiles. “I’ll be around.” She says as I lead Laura out of the kitchen and up the stairs. We walk down the hall towards the back of the house.

“Are you showing me your old room?” Laura chimes.

“Maybe.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her before opening the door and turning on the light. It has been years since I was last in this room, and smile slightly realizing that my mother never had the heart to change my room. She converted William and Mattie’s rooms into guest rooms, but let mine alone, seeing as it was one of the small rooms and was at the back of the house. I watch as Laura looks around, taking everything in.

“It reminds me of your apartment, except the walls are darker.”

“I didn’t want to paint the apartment yet, I didn’t know if I was committing to it.” I explain.

“And you have build in bookcases.”

“My mother wanted those in all of the bedrooms when we moved in. One of her many requests.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“It’s nice here.”

“She kept in the same. I guess she assumes I’d rather stay in a familiar space than stay in a guestroom. And I think it’s because she wants me to have an escape when she’s holding a party and I don’t want to be at.”

“You’re home away from home at home.” Laura laughs.

“Exactly.” I smile.

“You’re too much.”

“Yeah well.”

“I can see your mom cares about you, you made it seem like she doesn’t.”

“I didn’t mean for it to come across that way, I just… I was nervous. I didn’t know what she would do, how she would act. I was worried about if my dad was going to be here and he wasn’t. My mother is a nice woman, but she just is unpredictable and I’ve never done this before. Bringing someone home…”

“Well, I would say this was a success.” Laura chimes, wrapping her arms around my neck. I smile, pulling her closer to me by her waist.

“I would agree.” I smile, kissing her softly.


	7. Chapter 7

-Laura POV-

I walk up the stairs that had begun to feel almost like home over the course of the past five months that Carmilla and I have been together. I open the door to hear Carmilla blasting music throughout her small apartment. It was finally coming together to be more of a personalized space and less of a half lived in one. Carmilla was coming down the small hallway that lead to her bedroom singing to herself, she looked up at me and smiled, pulling me into her arms as she started to make me dance with her to the beat of the music. “Hey, Cupcake.” She whispers in my ear, leaning in to kiss me. “How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

“Very well.” She chimes, pulling me close. “Better in fact seeing as you’re here.” She whispers, kissing me again.

“Are you ready to go away in few weeks?” I ask excitedly.

“I can’t wait to just have you all to myself.” Carmilla whispers, kissing my neck. “Just you and me in different hotel rooms, alone. One night we’ll be in London, before we know it, we’ll be in Paris.” She says, kissing my jaw. “And then we’ll go to Berlin, and Stockholm. Maybe go down to Rome, Barcelona, perhaps we’ll go to Crete.”

“You’re going to take me everywhere you can, aren’t you?”

“I want to make the best out of everything, seeing as you still have to come back to finish your degree and I can’t be from the store for too long. I can only trust Ell for so long.” She says with a smile. “I want to get your fill of Europe and what it has to offer.”

“You’re so sweet to me.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her.

“I have no reason not to be.” Carmilla whispers against my lips, kissing me again. “I love you.” She says so quietly I almost missed it.

“You love me?”

“I do. I love you very much.”

“I love you, too.” I smile, kissing her again.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, I am. What are you offering?”

“Pizza. Or we can go food shopping.”

“How domestic, telling me you love me and offering that we go grocery shopping together.” I tease as Carmilla shoves my shoulder playfully. “Are you going to cook for me?”

“You like when I cook for you. Don’t you?”

“I have a confession to make.” I say, watching Carmilla deflate slightly. I take a deep breath, building the dramatics up. “I – I’m only with you for the food.” I say melodramatically.

“You’re a jerk that’s going to be eating ramen tonight.”

“Ooh! Is it that ramen bowl you make?”

“No, the crappy not done up to the Carmilla standard type of ramen.”

“That’s cruel.”

“Yeah well.” She says with a shrug.

“You love me, you’d never do that to me.”

“You’re right. I hate when you’re right.” Carmilla sighs, kissing the side of my head. 

* * *

“Laura?” I hear my mom say as she reaches the top of the stairs.

“Yeah?”

“How are you?” She asks, coming in and sitting on my bed.

“Good, getting everything together to go with Carm.”

“Are you excited?”

“Very. She seems like she wants to show me nearly all of Europe. I can’t wait.”

“I’m happy for you Sweetheart. Just be careful I’ll worry about you every second.”

“I know Mom. I know Dad will be worrying too. We’ll be fine. Carm and I were talking the other day and she said she has a flat in London, she and her mother also booked all the best hotels that only her mother approved of, everything will be okay.” 

“I want you to have all the fun you can. I remember when your father and I traveled.”

“Didn’t you just go to Italy on your honeymoon?”

“We did, and it was the best week and a half of our lives.” She smiles. “I came up here to give you a couple of things.” My Mom smiles as she hands me a gift bag.

“Thank you, Mom.” I say, giving her a hug before pulling the items from the bag. It was a small Polaroid camera, a few packs of film for it, and a travel journal.

“I know you like to do all of that kind of stuff, like journal and take photos, so I thought it would be nice to have the instant photo rather than finding a place to print them out from your phone and all of that stuff.”

“Thank you so much. I love it. I can’t wait to use it.” I chime, giving her a hug.

“You’re welcome. You don’t have to add every last detail, but just a briefing of the day would be nice. I would like to read of your adventures seeing as I wont be able to talk to you so much.”

“I know Mom. But you know I’ll pay the bill if it goes over.”

“I know, but let’s try to keep it status quo.”

“Okay, Mom.”

“I also came up here to warn you that your father will be coming to give you the lecture, he also wants to lecture Carmilla, so see if she can come by.”

“Will do.” I say as my mom leaves the room. About an hour later, Carmilla and I were sat on the couch while my dad sat in his chair across from us. I took Carmilla’s hand in mine, playing with her fingers as my father spoke to us about being safe when we go away.

“Are you even listening to me?” My dad asks, snapping me back into what was happening.

“Yes, you don’t want us out late, be back to the hotel at a reasonable hour, make sure I bring the paper spray in my bag all the time. Use my Krav Maga skills.” I say; trying to not sound annoyed.

“I want you to stay safe.”

“I know, Daddy. We’ll be safe, I promise. Everything will be fine. I told Mom, I’ll call at least three times a week s you know I’m okay. I’ll email you every day. I promise.”

“I promise to keep Laura safe, Sir. You don’t have to worry too much. I want her to enjoy herself but at the same time be responsible about it. Besides, I think Laura will have an itinerary every day and be tired by seven so we’ll have no choice but end up in out hotel room ordering room service.” Carmilla smiles. “That will probably be when we’re in France and Spain if we choose to go there. My mother is letting us use her flat in London and she has one in Stockholm, we also have one in Berlin. She has a beach house in Greece.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. But there is always a potential for something to happen.”

“I’m not denying that, Sir. But know we are going to be staying in spaces that have less of a margin for error and have security systems.”

“That makes me feel only a little bit better.”

“A little bit is better than nothing at all.” Carmilla smiles.

“Where are you flying into?”

“Heathrow, Sir. Our first stop is England. I think we’ll do the British Isles for about a week and then go from there.”

“How long are you gone for?”

“The initial plan was for at least two months.”

“And you’re sure she doesn’t need any more money?”

“Positive, everything is taken care of.” I smile at Carmilla as she leans in and kisses my forehead. “I care about your daughter more than anything in this entire world. You don’t have to worry about anything, but I know it’s in your nature.”

“I like you, Carmilla. I trust and believe you. Don’t mess it up. This is going to be your real test.” My dad says, pointing his finger at her. “Do not mess it up.”

“I promise, Sir.” Carmilla nods.

“Let’s go upstairs before he makes you sign a contract in blood.” I say, taking her hand and pulling her up to my room.

“How many bags are you packing?” Carmilla asks when she sees that my room looks like a warzone due to the amount of clothes thrown all over the place.

“Just two. I was just sifting through what would be the best things to wear.” I explain, moving the pile that was on my desk chair so she had somewhere to sit. “I packed a lot of dresses and shorts. I also brought a couple of pairs of pants and warmer clothes in case it gets colder at night. What?”

“You’re adorable, that’s all.” Carmilla smiles as she reaches over, pulling me into her lap to kiss her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I smile, caressing the back of her neck. “I’m excited.”

“So am I.” She smiles, wrapping her arms around my waist. “We’re going to have an amazing time. I know you’re worried about clothes and what to wear, but do you have your passport?”

“Oh course I do. That stuff is in my bag to carry on.”

“We’re flying first class by the way. Mother requested that we fly in comfort.”

“It must be fun having wealth.”

“It’s my mother’s not mine.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just don’t assume that I have the bank account, she does. She’s generous when she wants to be. There’s no reason for her not to be, and she knows how I want to live my life so when I do ask for a favor she’s more than happy to do it for me.”

“Okay.” I nod, kissing her on the cheek.

“We’re don’t have to worry about anything. This whole trip is going to be worth it.”

“What if we never want to come home?”

“Where would you want to start our new life?”

“London.”

“That’s something that could be arranged with no issue at all. Mother will just have to find a new flat, I like the one she has now too much.”

“Well aren’t you just daughter of the year.” I say, rolling my eyes at her.

“You’ll see why I love it when we get there.”

“Okay.” 

* * *

“Daddy, please let me go.” I say as he wraps me in a tight hug again. “We’re going to miss the flight.”

“I just will miss you, this is the first trip you’re taking out of the country ever, and it’s without your mother and I.”

“I’ll be fine, Dad. Don’t worry.”

“I will be worrying the entire time. That isn’t going to change.”

“Sherman, let her go.” My mom says, walking over to us. “She has to go, and she’ll be fine. Have a good time sweetie, don’t forget to message us on Facebook or email us at least once a day to keep your father’s blood pressure down.”

“I will Mom, don’t worry.” I say giving her a tight hug.

“Take care of her or he will have your head.” She says to Carmilla with a smile before giving her a hug.

“I promise, Mrs. Hollis, and you too Mr. Hollis, Laura is in good hands. You don’t have to worry, I’ll bring her back in once piece.” Carmilla smiles, as I walk over and take her hand in mine.

“We have to go. I love you both and will see you soon.”

“Bring us back stuff.”

“Of course I will, Dad. Don’t worry about that.”

“Have fun girls.” Mom says with a smile, waving as we make our way to security. Once through security, Carmilla took my hand in hers as we walked towards the gate. We sit down and wait to hear about our flight, Carmilla goes and gets us coffee while we wait. She sits down, taking my hand in hers and playing with my fingers.

“Are you okay?”

“I haven’t flown before.” I say shyly.

“It’s easy. Take off and landing are the only parts that freak me out only slightly. But other than that, you don’t know the difference, and besides, I don’t know about you but I can sleep the entire time.”

“I’m too excited to sleep.”

“You’ll be fine, Cupcake.” She says, kissing the side of my head.

“I have my laptop, I’ll probably watch a movie.”

“It’ll take about four movies to get there, depending on what you watch. But trust me, you’ll want to sleep.”

“Okay, Carm.” I smile, kissing her quickly. “Ready?” I ask, hearing our flight get announced over the loudspeaker.

“Ready as ever, Cupcake.” She says, kissing me again.


	8. Chapter 8

-Laura POV-

I turn onto my side as I begin to wake up. The chimes of Big Ben not too far away from the apartment we were staying in at the start of our vacation. I reach over and feel Carmilla; I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her into me. I kiss the back of her head as I feel her stir a bit. “I still want to sleep, Cupcake.” Carmilla chimes, her voice thick with sleep as she turns around in my arms and faces me, pulling me closer to her.

“I don’t want to get up yet either, so don’t worry.” I say, kissing the tip of her nose. I watch as Carmilla smiles, opening her eyes slightly, looking around the room before looking at me. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” She grumbles, leaning in to kiss me. “How did you sleep?”

“Wonderfully.”

“So did I.” She smiles, shifting to lie on her back as she begins to become more alert. I smile, moving to straddle her waist. “Well, aren’t you being forward this morning, Ms. Hollis.” She says, placing her hands on my thighs as I lean down to kiss her.

“I’m always forward with you in the morning.” I whisper against her lips.

“I’m not complaining in the slightest.” She smiles, kissing me deeply as she reaches over her pillow, smiling into our kiss.

“What are you up to Ms. Karnstein?”

“I have something for you.”

“Oh really?” I ask, sitting up straight as she hands me a neatly wrapped box. “You’re spoiling me.”

“You are my girlfriend, and I love you. Just think of this as an early anniversary gift.” She smiles, leaning up to kiss me.

“So that means part of something more, doesn’t it?”

“Of course.” She chuckles, watching as I tear away the paper. I open the box to reveal a charm bracelet with a single charm hanging from it. I look closer to realize it was a Big Ben charm.

“You’re a dork.” I laugh, leaning down to kiss her “Thank you, I love it. And I love you.”

“I love you too, here I’ll put it on.” Carmilla says, taking the bracelet from me, putting it on, happy to see it fit nicely. “So what do you want to do today?”

“What do you recommend?”

“What do I recommend? Well I’ll have you know it involves us never leaving this bed.”

“We haven’t left this bed and we’ve already been here for two days. I want to see the sights.”

“I know you want to see the sights, Cupcake. But you can’t deny the fact that not leaving this bed has been fun.” Carmilla chimes, kissing my neck.

“It has been, but we didn’t plan this trip to sleep together in different countries.”

“Well…” Carmilla teases, causing me to slap her arm playfully.

“I know that’s the underlying plan of yours, but still.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“A Harry Potter locations tour…”

“Of course you do, but that would involve driving places and that isn’t something I’m too fond of doing.”

“Can we just walk about the city then? Take me to your favorite places?” I ask, leaning in to kiss her.

“We can do that.” Carmilla smiles as I move to get out of bed. “Ah, one of my favorite sights in the world is right in front of me.” She chimes, sitting up in bed.

“Well aren’t you just a romantic.” I chime, pulling on her red silk robe.

“I was going to put that on.”

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to enjoy my favorite sight in the world.” I glance over my shoulder to see Carmilla looking at me with her mouth hanging open.

 

-Carmilla POV-

Laura and I were walking hand in hand through a park, enjoying the silence between us. “Carm?”

“Yes, Love.” I say, pulling my phone from my pocket when I feel it going off.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” I smile, looking at her and giving her a quick kiss before answering the phone. “Hello?”

_“Carmilla, where are you?”_

“Perry, I told you I was going away with Laura for the summer.”

_“I know that, but that isn’t the question.”_

“We’re in London. Why?”

_“Okay, did you plan on going to Paris?”_

“I think so, why?”

_“Remember when you said to tell you if I ever saw anything happen with Laura…?”_

“Are you telling me I shouldn’t go?”

_“No, but just done let Laura wander off too far on her own.”_

“Is it something bad?” I ask quietly.

_“No, just clumsy Laura.”_

“Okay. I’ll be sure to watch out. Thank you.”

_“I don’t want you killing me, so I figured I’d let you know. Oh, and I happens in the Louvre.”_

“Thanks. I’ll talk to you soon and I’ll be sure to bring you back something.”

_“Oh, a beret?”_

“Sure. Bye.”

 _“Bye.”_ I hang up the phone, putting it back into my pocket.

“Everything okay?” Laura asks.

“Yeah, just Perry.”

“What did she say?”

“She said to watch out for you. She saw something happening in the Louvre involving your clumsiness.” I say, letting go of her hand and wrapping my arm around her.

“I forget that she is clairvoyant some times.”

“Yeah, I appreciate it when she calls to tell me to keep an eye on you, that way we don’t possibly get arrested.” I tease.

“Ha, ha.” Laura says, shoving me playfully. “So are we going to walk around this park all day?”

“No, we actually are going to tour Buckingham Palace.” I say, looking at my watch to check the time.

“Really? I want to take a picture with the guards!”

“I knew you would get excited about it. You’re going to test the fact that they don’t react, aren’t you?”

“Duh.” Laura says, rolling her eyes and kissing my cheek as we reach the gates of the palace. I laugh as Laura rushes towards a guard, standing on her tiptoes to be nose to nose with the man. I smile as she tries to get the guard to break. “Come on, I know you want to smile.” She says to the man as she starts jumping around like a crazy person.

“Cupcake, leave him alone.” I say, taking her by the hand and pulling her away. 

“Fine, can we at least take a selfie with him?” She whines, as she pouts like a child. I sigh, leaning in to kiss her quickly, causing her to smile. Laura pulls out her phone and takes a picture of us with the guard. “Thank you, Carm.” She smiles, kissing me again. “And thank you for the picture, Sir.”

* * *

“Yes, Mom. It was wonderful. Of course I took a lot of pictures, and I found a postcard. It’ll be in the mail tomorrow.” I hear Laura say as I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. “She is the best, Mom, you know that.” Laura smiles, kissing me quickly. “Yes, okay. My mom says, hi.”

“Tell her I say, hi.”

“Carmilla says, hi. Tell Dad that everything is fine.” Laura says, rolling her eyes. “I love you too, I’ll call you tomorrow.” Laura says before hanging up. “Hi.” She smiles, turning around to face me properly. She leans in kissing me softly.

“How your parents?”

“Good, they miss me.”

“I could imagine.”

“Have you spoken to your mother?”

“I texted her earlier. She’s okay. I spoke to Ell and the store is holding up well. So nothing to worry about.”

“Good.” She smiles, leaning in to kiss me again. “Are you tired?” 

“Nope.” I smile

“Good, I wanted to talk to you.”

“You’re a tease.”

“Come on you grump.” She says, taking my hand leading the way to the bedroom. “I just wanted to talk to you about something slightly serious.”

“Okay.” I say, lying down on the bed. “What’s up?” I ask as Laura lies down beside me, and resting her head on my shoulder.

“Remember a while back, when I was in that accident, you were taking care of me.”

“I made you chicken soup.” I smile.

“Yes, you did.” Laura chuckles. “I bring that up because I wanted to talk about moving in together when we get home.”

“You’re considering living with me?”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it. By the time we get home, it’s going to feel as if we’ve been living together for a month and I don’t want to go back to living with my parents after this… I mean it’s something to think about. We don’t have to jump into it.”

“I would like that.”

“Really?”

“The fact that we’ve been living together for the past few days, and yeah I know it’s only been days, but I feel like after this month is over, I’m not going to want to go back to being alone all the time, and going to bed without you. I love you, and would like to live together.” 

“In your apartment of course.”

“Well I wouldn’t want to live at your place. No offense but I have been living away from home for a while and that would be a back peddle.” I tease, causing Laura to roll her eyes.

“Of course I would want to move in with you. You’re such a jerk sometimes.”

“You know if we live together, you won’t be able to escape it.”

“I’ll find ways to escape it.” Laura teases as she leans in to kiss me. “Redirection is always key.”

“And we know it isn’t hard to redirect me.”

“No it isn’t.” Laura chuckles. “So is it something you’re going to think about?”

“Of course.” I say, leaning in to kiss her softly. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

* * *

“Here we are on the wonderful island of Crete, Greece.” Laura chimes, holding her phone to her face as I walk out onto the balcony where she is filming herself, assumedly to show her parents. “It is literally paradise here, the water is so blue and it is so tranquil here. I don’t know if I ever want to leave.” She smirks as she looks over at me. She then stops recording and puts her phone in her back pocket of her shorts. “Hi.”

“Hello.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her. “Are you vlogging for your parents?”

“Yeah, and Laf.” She smiles as she rests her arms on my shoulders. “What are we doing today?”

“Nude sunbathing.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Well it is the only thing that seems exciting.” I chime, kissing her cheek.

“The only thing? There isn’t anything else that seems exciting?”

“We’ve had so much sex that it is starting to lose it’s fun.”

“You sound like an old lady, oh wait.” Laura teases.

“Four years between us doesn’t make me an old lady.” I say, shoving her shoulder playfully.

“That will forever be a debatable topic.”

“Ha, ha.” I say, kissing her quickly.

“Good thing you’re hot, or your wrinkles would be a deal breaker.” She says, wiggling out of my grip and running into the house with a laugh. I smile as I chase her down the stairs and out the back door, diving into the pool after her. Laura continues to laugh as I swim over to her, wrapping my arms around her. “You’re pretty fast for an old lady.”

“And you’re not as fast as I thought you would be.” I chime, leaning in to kiss her. “You’re lucky I fucking love you.”

“Don’t think I don’t know that for one second.” Laura says, looking at me with all the love in the world.

 

-Laura POV-

“Are you ready to go back home?” Carmilla asks, walking up behind me and wrapping her arms around me as we stand at the fairly crowded gate waiting for our flight. I smile, looking down as she takes my hands in hers.

“No.” I say quietly, looking at the charm bracelet Carmilla gave me on our first part of the trip. The first charm was Big Ben, then The Eiffel Tower, then a bright blue stone that resembled the blue of the waters of Crete, followed by an airplane, and a globe.

“Did you enjoy yourself at least?”

“I could go anywhere on the planet with you and enjoy myself, Carm.” I say, turning to face her.


	9. Chapter 9

-Laura POV-  
  
“Carm, can you help me please?” I call out as I carry a heavy box up the stairs to her apartment.  
  
“Cupcake, I told you I would do it.” She says, taking the box from my hands. “You’re so stubborn.”  
  
“Get used to it.”  
  
"I know. If I don't get used to it, we're going to have an issue, aren't we?" She teases, kissing my cheek. We've been back from our European vacation for a few weeks now, and Carmilla and I thought I would be better to start the process of moving in together before the start of the next semester. Mostly all of my things were brought over to her place, only a few loose items remained in my room at home. Of course, the topic of me moving out sparked my father to come over and inspect everything about Carmilla's apartment. Especially the locks on the doors and windows, as well as making sure she had working smoke detectors.  
  
“Carmilla?” My father calls out from somewhere in the apartment.  
  
"What is it, Sherman?" She asks, putting the box down on the coffee table and walking towards the bathroom. I follow her in the direction, trying to see what my dad was complaining about.  
  
“Are you aware you have a small mold issue in the bathroom?”  
  
“No, I was not aware.”  
  
“Yeah, it isn’t a problem yet, but it could become one.”  
  
“I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but I’ll have Perry come by and clean it up. She usually does that; it hasn’t had time to come by. She’s probably going to come by this weekend.”  
  
“Okay, as long as it gets taken care of.” My dad smiles, “Don’t want my daughter getting sick.”  
  
"Dad, common bathroom mold isn't going to be an issue," I say, rolling my eyes.  
  
“It could become an issue if it isn’t taken care of.”  
  
"It will be taken care of," Carmilla says, taking my hand in hers and squeezing it a bit to calm me down.  
  
“Other than that, there is nothing to worry about. This place is very well taken care of.”  
  
"Thanks, Dad."  
  
“Take care of my daughter, Carmilla.”  
  
“I will always take care of her, Sir. Nothing to worry about.” Carmilla smiles, wrapping her arm around my waist and kissing the side of my head.  
  
“That’s all I ask. Okay, I’ll get out of your hair now. If anything happens, call me no matter what time of day. I’ll see you later, are you still going to be in and out?”  
  
“Yes, I have one more trip to make or so. Then I’ll be here.”  
  
“Okay, be careful and enjoy your freedom.” He says, wrapping me in a tight hug. “I love you, Sweetie.”  
  
“I love you too, Dad. It’s not like I won’t be home ever. I just feel like it’s time I start moving forward.”  
  
“I know. I know.” He says, wiping a tear from his eye.  
  
“Good thing your mom isn’t here, she’s snap him out of it.” Carmilla comments, I couldn’t help but smack her lightly. “Cupcake, if abuse is going to be a constant, then we’re going to move your stuff home.”  
  
“I am home.” I chime, smiling at Carmilla and she smiles at me.  
  
"Okay, I really have to get going, there's a situation at work, see you, girls, later." He says, walking out of the apartment. Once he leaves, I turn towards Carmilla and kiss her.  
  
“What was that for?”  
  
“I’m not allowed to randomly kiss you?” I ask, smiling as she wraps her arms around me.  
  
“No, you are. I think I just have to get used to it being a constant thing in my life now. I’ve never lived together with anyone.”  
  
“Are you nervous about it?”  
  
“No, I love you enough to know it’s right, and that I want to be with you no matter what.”  
  
"You are the sweetest person I have ever met," I say, leaning in to kiss her.

“Thank you. Now, your what would you like for dinner?”

“Surprise me? I would like to finish getting the rest of my stuff from my parents.”

“I’ll order in, and then tomorrow I’ll cook for you.”

"That sounds perfect," I say, kissing her quickly before walking out of the apartment. I walk down the stairs to my car to be met with Perry walking out of the backdoor to her store.

“Oh, hello Laura.” She says politely with a smile. “How are you? How’s moving day?”

“It’s good, just finishing up now. I have to go get a few more boxes and then I should be done.”

“That’s wonderful, I was just on my way to clean up a bit, seeing as I’m the person maid.” Perry chimes as we both laugh.

“Well, maybe that will change seeing as I’m gonna be living here now. I like to keep things tidy, something Carmilla seems to avoid.”

“I knew you would be good for her.”

“Thank you.” I smile.

“You’re welcome, Laura. I don’t want to keep you any longer, Carmilla will begin to worry.”

 

-Carmilla POV-

“Carmilla?” I hear Perry call out. 

“Yes?” I say, walking out of the bedroom to see Perry standing in the doorway. “What’s up?”

“I’m here to clean your apartment, as per usual.”

“Which is greatly appreciated.” I smile.

“I say Laura downstairs, she was happy to inform me that she will be cleaning this place from now on. My services will no longer be needed.”

“But they were always appreciated, as I’ve said.”

“I know, I’m happy though that Laura is going to be here with you. At least you’ll have someone to be with you. You’ve been alone for a while, I was starting to worry.”

“You sound like my mother.”

“Sorry.” She says, gathering her cleaning supplies.

“It’s okay. We’ve been friends long enough for there to be a worrying nature from your point of view.”

“Do you see yourself spending the rest of your life with Laura?”

“Like marriage?” I ask, following Perry into the bathroom.

“Yeah, that usually is a step when you want to spend your life with someone, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that. What I mean is, do you see yourself being with her and not cheating on her or things of that nature?”

“Yes. I love her very much and don't want to hurt her in any way. I could see myself marrying her even." I admit, looking down at the floor, not being able to fight the smile growing on my face.

"I've seen that since the first time you spoke about her. When I saw her, I didn't know what she looked like exactly, or who she truly would be, but I knew she was going to be a force that you needed and that would change your world for the better, and she has. I see that I'm happy that I saw her and that you found her."

“I’m happy I found her too.” I smile, listening to the front door open.

“Carm?” 

"Hey, Cupcake," I call out, walking over to help her with the last of her boxes. "This is it?"

“This is the last of it.” She smiles, kissing my cheek. “How’s everything here?”

“Fine, Perry and I were just talking while she was cleaning the bathroom.”

“I told her she will be relieved if her services after today.”

“I know. I was looking forward to keeping her around forever, but you want to be the perfect girlfriend you are and actually clean up after me, it’s very sweet.”

"You're gonna wish you didn't say that I'm going to start making you clean up around here too."

"Your stuff is still boxed, I have time to retract my offer of you moving in here."

“You wouldn’t do that, you love me too much. You’re happy I’m going to be living here with you.”

“I guess so.” I shrug, causing Laura to shove me playfully.

“You’re a jerk.” She smiles, leaning in to kiss me.

“I love you too.” I chime, kissing her again.

“Do you two need anything else done in here?” Perry asks as she walks out of the bathroom.

"That was quick," I say, letting go of Laura.

“Bleach does wonders very quickly.” She chimes, holding up the Clorox bottle. “Besides, it’s Laura’s first night, I don’t want to intrude.”

"It's okay, Perry, really," Laura says.

“No, I’m done and you two deserve this time to be alone. Enjoy yourselves and your new life together.”

“Thank you again, Curly Sue.” I smile. 

“Always a pleasure, Carmilla. I’ll see you both soon.” Perry says with a smile as she walks out the door.

* * *

“Cupcake, what’s this?” I ask with a smile.

“My high school yearbook.” She says, rolling her eyes. “Do you want to see me?”

“Of course I do.” Laura smiles as she walks towards me, flopping onto the bed as she takes the book from my hands. She flips through the pages until she finds the one she’s looking for, with a smile, she turns the book towards me.

“You look the same.”

“That picture was only taken three years ago.”

“You act so maturely that I forget your only twenty.” I smile.

“What were you like in high school?”

“Moody.”

“Oh, so nothing has changed.” Laura smiles.

“No, not much.” I laugh. "Although, with you, I do feel a little lighter, and not so moody. I think several people can agree to that fact." I chime, leaning in to kiss her. "I love you."

“I love you too.” She whispers against my lips, kissing me again. “So, can I see your high school yearbook?”

“Yeah.” I get up from the bed and walk over to the bookshelf, reaching down and grabbing the yearbook. "Here," I say, turning to the page with my picture.

“You look the same too.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I chime watching as she turns the pages.

“And so does Perry.” Laura chuckles. “You don’t have to answer this, but do you know when Perry started getting visions?”

“I think once she started going through puberty is when she was getting weirder, she would tell me things that happened and I didn’t believe her until they finally did happen, then I didn’t know how to react to it. I got to the point where I didn’t want to hear her tell me things anymore. She stayed quiet for about six years before I finally went to her again.” I explain. “Then she made things weird and I didn’t talk to her again for a while until just before I met you.”

“Would you ever ask her to tell you if she sees something that may even hurt you?”

“I have. I told her if she ever sees something involving you I want to know right away.”

“Do you think if I asked her, she would do that for me?” Laura asks, closing the book, not making eye contact with me.

“Are you worried about something?” I ask, reaching over and taking her hand in mine.

“N – no. I just would like to know if I ever do get worried.”

“I’m fairly certain that if you spoke to Perry about it, she would let you know whatever you want to know. But she will also protect you from things she may not want to tell you right away. She does have a concerning nature when it comes to what she will and won’t tell you.” I say, looking at Laura as she nods. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you?”

“Everything is fine, Carm.” She smiles, leaning in to kiss me. “Let’s finish unpacking some stuff and then I would like to eat.”

“So demanding. What do you want?" 

“Burger and fries. Please.”

"Okay," I say, kissing her sweetly.

* * *

“Carm, come to bed,” Laura whines as I finish paperwork at the desk across the room.

“Just a few more minutes, Love.”

“Is this going to be something you do every night?”

“Work? Yeah, I have to make sure everything is going well with the store.”

“Being an adult must suck.”

“Sometimes.” I shrug, turning off the lamp and climbing into bed. “What’s going to happen when you start your internship? You’re going to be late and working some nights.”

“I know, but I don’t want to think about that yet,” Laura says, resting her head on my shoulder.

“Well, we’re going to have to, seeing as it starts soon,” I say, running my fingers through her hair.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Aren’t you looking forward to getting your career off the ground?”

“Yeah, I am. But I just don’t want to rush into it. I don’t know.”

“You’re going to be a great journalist, honestly you’re going to be great no matter what you choose to do.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her.

“I love you.”

“I love you too."


	10. Chapter 10

-Laura POV-

I walk into the bookstore to find Ell behind the counter. “Hey.” She chimes.

“Hey, Ell. Is Carm around?”

“She’s in the back taking in an order. Do you want me to call her on the walkie?”

“No thanks, I’ll go find her,” I say, walking towards the back of the store, putting in the code to the door and letting myself in. The door closes loudly behind me.

“Ell, there better not be customers in the front,” Carmilla says, her head in a box.

“It’s me.” I chime, walking over and wrapping my arms around her from behind.

“Hey Cupcake.” She smiles, turning to kiss me. “What brings you here?”

“I’m not allowed to come to visit my girlfriend at work?”

“No, you are. Trust me, you can come down here any time. I just, is something wrong?”

“No, I just don’t feel too good. I left campus early and didn’t want to finish the rest of the afternoon.”

“Do you want me to make you soup for dinner?”

“It isn’t that kind of not feeling good. I’m just really tired.”

“Go upstairs, get comfortable and lie in bed. I’ll get something easy for dinner tonight. I’m going to be here for a while doing inventory, I don’t really know when I’ll be done, but I’ll be up later.” She says, kissing me on the cheek.

“I love you,” I say, resting my forehead against hers.

“I love you too. You’ll let me know if anything is bothering you, right?”

“Of course,” I say, kissing her softly.

“I’ll see you in a little bit.” 

“Okay.”

* * *

I wake up to the feeling of Carmilla rubbing my shoulder. “Hey, Cupcake.” She whispers.

“Hey,” I say, sitting up in bed and rubbing my eyes.

“How do you feel?”

“Still blah. How are you?”

“I’m good, I brought you something to eat. Soup and a sandwich.” Carmilla says, holding up a bag.

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I say, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Thank you, but you don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ll always worry about you, Laura. You know that.” She says quietly, tucking a stand if hair behind my ear.

“And I love you for that. But I don’t expect you to worry about me every time I don’t feel good.”

“What kind of partner would I be if I didn’t?”

“A shitty one, I guess.”

“Exactly.” She says with a small laugh. “If you still feel shitty tomorrow, I want you to see a doctor.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“I know. But I’m just tired, Carm.”

“Something that isn’t normal for you. You’re someone who can be ready to take on the say the minute you open your eyes in the morning, no matter what time you wake up.”

“I know. I’ll see a doctor when it seems fit. Okay?”

“So soon?”

“Soon.” I nod, leaning in to kiss her.

 

-Carmilla POV-

I look up when I hear the door open to see Perry walking over with a worried look on her face. “Hey, Perry. What’s wrong?” I ask, walking around the counter to stand in front of her.

“Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Y-yeah. Hey, Ell! Come to the front please.” I call out, seeing her not too far from Perry and I. Once Ell does as she’s told I take Perry and lead her to the back room. “What’s wrong?” I ask again, once the door is closed behind us.

“Is Laura okay?”

“She hasn’t felt like herself for about a day or two. Why?”

“I don’t know how to explain this, I had a dream last night, she was in it. She wasn’t doing too well.”

“What was wrong?”

“She was in the hospital, I couldn’t understand why. There was nothing to let me know the reasoning behind her being there. But she was clearly admitted for some reason.”

“Should I worry?”

“I don’t know, Carmilla. Is she going to the doctor?”

“I think she was able to get an appointment for today. She plays it off like something isn’t wrong, but I know something’s wrong, she just doesn’t want me to worry.”

“Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but something may be wrong,” Perry says with a worried look in her eyes.

“How sure are you?”

“Are you doubting me?”

“You said it was a dream. How do you know it was a valid vision or not?”

“Carmilla, Laura is sick. Something is wrong and you’re really going to think I would go through the trouble to make that up? You think I would do that to you when it comes to the person you love with all of your heart?”

“I’m sorry,” I say, running my fingers through my hair. “What should I say to her?” I ask, pulling my phone from my back pocket.

“I don’t know.”

“A couple of weeks ago, she asked me if you would be able to tell her if you saw something wrong with her… She was concerned if you would tell her something even if it would hurt her.”

“If I had this dream and she was around to be told, I would tell her. But she isn’t here and you said she hasn’t been well, I don’t know how she’s going to act about it.”

“I just want her to be okay.”

“She will be. That much I do know without a doubt.” Perry says with a sad smile as my phone begins to ring.

“Cupcake.”

_“Hey, Carm.”_

“Is everything okay?”

 _“I have to got to the hospital.”_ She says barely about a whisper.

“I’m on my way. Do you want anything?”

_“Some clothes, I – I think I may be here for a little bit.”_

“Laura,” I say quietly.

_“We don’t have to worry, Carm.”_

“I’ll always worry.”

_“You don’t have to worry.”_

“Laura, please.” 

_“Carmilla, can you just get here already?”_

* * *

I walk through the doors of the hospital with a duffle bag on my shoulder. I walk over to the desk to see a woman smile up at me politely. “How can I help you?"

“I’m looking for Laura Hollis.”

“She’s in room twenty-three, on the seventeenth floor, south.” The woman says, looking at the computer as she writes everything on a visitors pass.

“Thank you,” I say, taking the sticker and putting it on my shirt. I make my way to the elevator and up to the seventeenth floor, and look for Laura’s room.

“Carm.” Laura chimes as I walk through the door.

“Hey, Cupcake,” I say, putting the bag on the chair and walking towards her. I lean over and kiss her forehead. “What’s going on?” I whisper, leaning my forehead against hers.

“I’m sick.”

“I see that,” I say, trying to hold back the sarcasm, but failing to do so. I look to see Laura roll her eyes, causing me to chuckle. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She says, kissing me softly before she sighs. “They think it might be cancer. The doctor did a blood test and my levels of different things were horrible and with that news the doctor suggested I come here.”

“Cancer,” I say quietly, sitting down in the chair beside her bed.

“They think so.” She nods.

“Did you tell your parents?”

“Not yet.”

“When are you going to tell them?”

“When I’m given the real diagnosis.”

“You don’t know when that will be.”

“I don’t care, I don’t want to tell them yet. I don’t need them up here making demands and not leaving me alone, I’m sick.”

“Okay.”

“Please don’t overstep.”

“I promise. I don’t want to upset you.” I say, caressing her cheek. “I love you, Cupcake. Everything will be okay.”

“I hope so.” She says, quietly.

 

-Laura POV-

“Ms. Hollis?” An older woman asks, looking at an iPad as she walks into my hospital room.

“Yes?”

“Hello, I’m doctor Cochrane, your oncologist.” She says politely, walking over to shake my hand when she sees Carmilla, sleeping in a chair that was hidden by the curtain. “Oh, I can come back later if you want.”

“That’s Carmilla, she’s my girlfriend.”

“Ah, you don’t mind speaking in front of her?”

“Not at all, she’s sleeping anyway.” I chime. Looking over to see Carmilla begin to stir.

“Cupcake, stop talking, it’s too early,” Carmilla mumbles as she begins to wake up.

“Carm, the doctor is here.”

“Oh.” She says, sitting up straighter and trying to be more alert. “Sorry, ma’am.”

“Don’t be, it may not be the first time I walk in here to see you sleeping. I’ll look into getting you a better chair in here.” Dr. Cochrane smiles.

“Thank you,” Carmilla says with a smile. “So what is the news?”

“We are dealing with cancer, the results from your tests came in early this morning, and your scans, you have a growth on your lymph node. So, I don’t think that is as surprising as you though. The good news, well the not so bad news, is that we’ve caught it early enough where we should be able to treat it effectively.”

“Okay. When do we start treatment?” I ask, taking it all in.

“As soon as I leave this room and put it in with your nurse. Do you have any questions?”

“How long will Laura’s treatment be?”

“We’re going to do two weeks inpatient, see where everything is going, and then we’ll do about two or three months of outpatient.”

“So everything will just be a go-with-the-flow process?”

“Yes, it will be. Make arrangements accordingly with work and school. I’m sorry to say, but chemo can lower your immune system and you will really just have to be home.”

“Okay,” I say, trying not to feel defeated.

“Okay, I’ll go let the nurse get your treatment ready, we’re going to do it every two days for the next two wiki8eeks, and do a scan and some tests before you go home. Just in case I don’t make it up here again within the next couple of days.”

“Thank you, doc,” Carmilla says.

“But if you do have any questions at all, I will have them answered personally. Just let the nurse know and I will get back to you as soon as possible. With a patient so young, I will do everything in my power to keep you at ease.” Dr. Cochrane says with a polite smile. “I have faith in seeing you get better, Ms. Hollis. I have no doubt about it.” She adds before walking out of the room.

“I’m going to call my parents,” I say, reaching for my phone.

“How are you going to tell them?”

“Bluntly.”

“You want to give your dad a heart attack.”

“I’m not calling him first, I’m calling my mom,” I say, putting the phone to my ear.

_“Hello, Sweetheart.”_

“Hey, Mom. I have to tell you something.”

_“What’s up, Laura.”_

“I – is Dad around?”

_“He’s out this morning. Laura, what’s wrong?”_

“I’m in the hospital,” I say, causing my mom to gasp a bit.

_“What’s wrong?”_

“Cancer,” I say quietly.

 _“Oh, Sweetheart.”_ I hear the tears in her voice. _“My little girl.”_

“I spoke to the doctor this morning, everything will be okay.”

_“Are they sure?”_

“Yes.”

_“Is Carmilla with you?”_

“Of course.”

_“I’ll be up there as soon as I can, I’ll let your father know too.”_

“Thanks, save me the turmoil of telling him,” I say with a laugh.

 _“At least you can be lighthearted about this.”_ She says with a chuckle. _“We’ll be up there as soon as possible.”_

“Okay, Mom. I’ll see you later.” I say before hanging up. “They’re going to be here sometime today,” I say, turning to Carmilla.

“Okay. Do you want anything, Cupcake?”

“Cocoa, please,” I say with a smile.

“I’ll go downstairs and get it. I could use a coffee.” Carmilla says, kissing me before she walks out of the room.

* * *

 

“Okay, you may feel nauseous, lose your appetite, and feel overall exhausted. Everyone has different side effects, no two people feel the exact same way.” The nurse says as she hooks up the IV of chemotherapy. “If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to let us know.” She says, leaving the room.

“How do you feel, Cupcake?”

“Like I’m being pumped with chemicals to kill an alien species growing inside me.”

“That sounds like an answer I would give.” Carmilla chuckles as she starts running her fingers through my hair. 

“I’ve been around you too much.” I tease, smiling as she kisses my forehead. “I love you, Carmilla.”

“I love you too, Laura.”


	11. Chapter 11

* * *

-Carmilla POV-

I walk into the hospital room to see Laura sitting up in her bed, humming to herself. I smile, today was a good day. “You look well today,” I say walking over and kissing Laura on the cheek.

“It is a good day,” she smiles, caressing my cheek and kissing me properly. “How are you?”

“Good. I miss you being home,” I whine, resting my forehead against hers.

“I’m going to be home before you know it. It’s already been a week. The doctor said I’d have to be here for two before I do outpatient chemo.”

“I know. I still miss you. I forgot what it was like to sleep alone. I hate it.”

“You’re cute when you whine,” Laura smiles. “But I miss being home. I feel the same way about sleeping alone too.”

“I know it’s a good day and all but I want to talk to you about something.”

“Is it my hair?”

“I don’t want to be a jerk. I love you no matter what...”

“It started thinning the other night, I know it looks bad. I was going to do a shortcut, I don’t want to shave it,” Laura says, looking worried for a moment.

“If it came to that, I’ll go out and buy you every nerdy hat I can find,” I say with a smile as Laura smiles sadly.

“I know you would, and I’d love you for it.”

“Another reason to love me forever?”

“You’re talking about forever already?”

“I could see us having a forever, can’t you?”

“I think I want to focus on getting better first, but I could see it, yes.” Laura smiles.

“Happy to hear that, Cupcake.” I smile, leaning in to kiss her sweetly.

“We can always discuss that when I start to feel better.”

“Whenever you’re ready.” I smile, kissing her on the cheek. Soon after, a nurse walks in holding up an IV bag with a polite smile.

“Time for your meds, Sweetie.” The older woman says with a smile and a thinning Jamaican accent.

“Whatever you say, Ruth.” Laura sighs, kissing me quickly before I pull away from her and make room for the nurse.

“Is this the girlfriend you’re always rattling on about, but I haven’t had the chance to meet?”

“Yes, ma’am. This is Carmilla. Carm, this is my morning nurse, Ruth.”

“Nice to meet you, Sweetheart.” Ruth smiles.

“Nice to meet you too.” I smile.

“Okay, Laura. It’s time to get this started. You should only have one more treatment with us after that.”

“I just want to be home already.” Laura whines.

“I know you do, but just another week and you’ll be home with your Honey over here.”

“Hear that Carm, you’re my, Honey.” Laura chimes with a dopey grin.

“And you’re my, Cupcake.” I smile, blowing her a kiss.

“You two are real lovebirds, aren’t you?” Ruth chimes, making sure the IV was connected right and the medicine was flowing through it.

“I guess you would call us that, I do love Carmilla very much.”

“I can see it, dear. I’ll be back in a little while. If you need anything, push the button.”

“I know, Ruth.” Laura smiles as the woman leaves the room. “I’m probably going to go to sleep soon.”

“I know, Cupcake, and you know I’m going to be here when you wake up,” I say, kissing her forehead. “Do you want anything for when you wake up?”

“Ginger tea. Please.”

“I can’t wait for the answer to be cocoa and cookies again, this ginger tea business is getting old.”

“It helps my stomach.” Laura pouts.

“I know, Creampuff, I’m just teasing you.”

“I love you, Carmilla.”

“I love you, Laura. I’ll be back in a little bit.” I say before leaving the room.

 

-Laura POV-

I wake up to see, Carmilla in her usual position, curled up in a, thankfully more comfortable, chair than she has been in. I look at her, taking in her peacefulness, something I will never get tired of doing. “I feel you staring, Cupcake,” Carmilla mumbles in her sleep.

“I like watching you sleep.” I chime, smiling as she opens an eye and looks at me with a small smile.

“You’re creepy.” She teases. “To think you’re coming home to stare at me some more when I sleep, and while we’re in the same bed no less.”

“You love me.”

“I do.” She says, sitting up straight. “Are you happy to finally leave this place?”

“More than. I want to shower and crawl into our cozy bed.”

“In that order. No offense but, you are starting to stink, Cupcake.”

“Carm!”

“I’m just saying. You don’t smell like honeysuckle anymore and it’s bumming me out. You smell like sterile, unscented, hospital soap.” Carmilla says, walking over to me and burying her face in the crook of my neck.

“You just saved yourself,” I say, kissing her cheek.

“I see you lovebirds are happy.” Ruth chimes, walking into the room with a folder.

“Yes, I get to take her home today.” Carmilla smiles.

“You do, your test results came in this morning and everything looks good. You just have to sign some paperwork and then we will send you on your way.” Ruth says. Placing the folder down in front of me. “What needs to be signed is flagged, take your time, it the sooner you get this done, the faster you get to leave.

“Get those things signed, Cupcake, I want to get out of here.” Carmilla chimes.

“I want to get out of here too,” I say, signing off on the papers. ”We are ready to start going,” I say with a smile, handing the paperwork off to Ruth.

”It was wonderful working with you, Ms. Hollis. I wish you all the best in the world.” Ruth smiles, giving me a hug as when I stand up.

”Thank you for helping me.”

“You’re welcome, Sweetie. Your girlfriend will take care of you now.”

“Yes ma’am.” Carmilla says with a nod and a smile.

“Take her home, let her I rest and I will probably see her again for outpatient care.” Ruth chimes, hugging Carmilla.

  
“Welcome home, Cupcake.” Carmilla says, opening the door to our apartment.

——

“Thank you, Carm,” I say, kissing her quickly. “I’m going to go shower.”

“Of course, if you need anything let me know.”

“I will.” I smile, walking towards the bathroom.

 

-Carmilla POV-

I walk into the bathroom with an armful of towels, remembering I forgot to put them in the cabinet before Laura realizes there aren’t any in there, I walk in to see Laura standing in front the mirror, staring at herself. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“I haven’t looked I’m a mirror the whole time in the hospital, I look horrid.” She says with a sad smile. “What?”

“I haven’t seen you without that horrid gown on. I didn’t know you had scars.” I saw, staring at her chest. I take a hesitant step towards her.

“C’mon, Carm. Don’t be upset, it isn’t something you could control.”  
“I know, but still. I feel bad that you had to go through all of this. I was there for support, but I will never know what you exactly went through.”

“I hope you never have to know what it feels like.” She says, stepping towards me and caressing my cheek. “Everything will be okay. The scars will heal, they aren’t too bad. The port will one day come out, and I won’t look like the bionic woman.” Laura says lightheartedly.

“I just hate that this happened to you,” I say quietly, holding her close.

“Carm, we didn’t have control over it.”

“I know, I still feel like it was an unfair circumstance in your destiny of life.”

“We aren’t going to dwell on this, we are going to move on from it. It was something that happened to me, and in the long run I feel as if it was make me stronger later on.” Laura smiles, turning to turn the shower on. “Besides, we should be happy that it was caught and is being treated early enough, I could have put this off long enough for it to be a major issue than it is. At least I’m not going to die at twenty years old.”

“I know. I am grateful for that fact, but I know that this is just going to have to be monitored often and all…”

“Let me worry about that, okay? Everything will be okay, Carm.” She smiles, kissing me before disappearing into the shower.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Can you order in?”

“Of course, what do you want? What are you up for?”

“I really want a burger from the diner up the street, even if I don’t eat all of it, that’s what I want.” Laura chimes, peaking her head out of the curtain.

“Whatever you want, Sweetheart.” I smile, kissing her quickly. “I’ll go call it in now.”

“Thank you!”

——

  
“I am so full.” Laura whines, rubbing her stomach.

“You ate too much.” I chime, kissing the side of her head.

“I haven’t eaten anything good in two weeks, and that burger was so good.”  
“Aside from the minor stomach ache, how do you feel?”

“Good, I don’t feel nauseous or anything like that.”

“Good.” I say, getting up and clearing the coffee table. “No, you stay! You don’t have to help.” I say as Laura starts to grab the empty glasses and plates as well.

“I want to help you though.”

“It’s okay, Cupcake, stay there and watch Buffy. I got it.”

“Okay.” Laura smiles, sinking back into the couch and curling into her Dr. Who blanket.

“When do you have to go to the doctor again?” I ask, walking back over to the couch with a mug of cocoa.

“Thursday, I have two days to just be home and relax. Then I start my chemo again.” Laura explains, taking the mug from me.

“Do you want me to go with you to that appointment?”

“If you want to, my mom said she would take me if you were busy or didn’t want to.”

“I want to take you, Ell has been holding the store down for this long and I haven’t lost any money, in fact I think I have been brining in a little more with her running the place. I think the customers like her.”

“Well at least she’s good for something.”

“I can’t believe you just said that.” I say, nearly choking on my tea.

“You must be rubbing off on me.”

“I don’t know if I should be shocked or proud. Or both.”

“I think you’re proud I am capable of reaching the same level of sarcasm as you.” Laura chimes behind her Tardis mug, sipping her cocoa.

“I mean, you could say that it is something to be proud of.”

“Can I ask you something, and I want a serious answer from you.”

“Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you truthfully.”

“What is your opinion on kids?”

“Are you asking if I want to have children with you?”

“Kind of, but it’s more of a general question.” She says, turning to face me fully.

“I don’t know, honestly. I never pictured having children, let alone being with someone long enough to even discuss the option.”

“So you don’t want kids?”

“Maybe when the time is right and I’m certain I have the right person, then maybe I’ll change my mind, but until then I may be set in my ways.”

“Okay.”

“You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”

“Before I started chemo, they suggested I had some of my eggs frozen for the time that I would want to have children. Due to the fact that the treatment could have lasting effects on me. That’s why I brought the topic up.”

“As of right this minute, I don’t know where I want my life to go. But I know that I want you in my life for a long time and if the time comes and we want to have a child, I won’t object to it.” I say, taking her hand in mine and playing with her fingers. “Is it safe to assume that you want to have children one day?”

“I’ve always wanted to have children. I’ve always dreamt of being a mom, of course I always imagined having a husband so that was something I had to rethink when I discovered my sexuality.”

“I think you would be a fantastic mother. If the time comes and things are right, I would want to have children with you, but until that time comes, I want to focus on you getting back to being one-hundred percent again.” I say, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “I love you, Laura.”

“I love you, Carmilla.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer decided it was time to die, so this was written solely in my iPad and all following installments will be until I get a new laptop, thankfully though my content was not lost entirely and I was able to write this in a timely manner. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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